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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029671">Repairs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teach/pseuds/Teach'>Teach</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:47:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>34,378</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029671</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teach/pseuds/Teach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years since the last of the Investigation Team graduated, Kanji Tatsumi finds himself running his family's textile business. The now twenty-three year old deals with the events that come with adult life. Despite doing well for himself, he finds himself clinging on to past events. One such day, he is going through his typical morning routine and was on track to even open his shop early. That is, until someone shows up at his doorstep.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanamura Yosuke/Satonaka Chie, Kujikawa Rise/Narukami Yu, Shirogane Naoto/Tatsumi Kanji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>95</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Coming Back to Bite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Ah, fuck, this hurts.</em>
</p><p>
  <span> Kanji Tatsumi awoke from his deep slumber with a soreness shooting up his spine. He didn’t complain about </span>
  <span>the pain</span>
  <span>—he did bring it upon himself, after all. </span>
  <span>Instead he just quietly grumbled to himself about how he must be getting old and losing his step. After it had subsided, he let out a lion’s roar of a yawn, sat up, scratched at his ribs a little, and finally convinced himself that he was awake enough to make his way to his bathroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> The water poured out of the shower-head at a level of heat that some might consider blistering. Kanji would call this lukewarm. Going from one source of heat to the next was basically how he lived his life. It was the same cycle every day: wake up, shower, make coffee, drink said coffee, complain about it not doing a damn thing for him, and then starting work on whatever he needed to do, whether it be making new dolls to fill out the missing ones from the storefront that had been sold the day before, or repairing some shoddy work done by a lesser craftsman. </span>
  <span>They were always full days, but Kanji made sure never to overwork himself. He still gave himself time in the evenings for whatever he wanted to do with his free time. For the past </span>
  <span>five years</span>
  <span> he had been doing this, ever since he graduated. </span>
</p><p><span> Fifteen minutes had passed and the water had begun to cool down. </span><em>Already been that long huh?</em><span> He was thinking both about the shower and the graduation. As he exited the shower and began to dry himself off, thoughts flooded his head about how the last </span><span>few</span><span> years had been treating him. He was now a twenty-</span><span>three</span><span> year old man. His mother, bless her soul, had unfortunately passed </span><span>two years</span> <span>prior</span><span> due to heart complications, so he was alone in the house now. He actually lessened his work load since the death of his mother, regretting the fact that he dove in too deep to keep himself occupied and not giving her enough time. </span><span>It was his way of attempting to try and normalize his life and get a stable schedule, but he didn’t realize that his mother would be gone so soon. From there, he had taken over the business. Work was still there as his mother’s reputation had gotten them far and, when Kanji took over, he was able to keep up the quality of the work she was doing on top of the work he did. </span></p><p>
  <span> Kanji, </span>
  <span>after getting done drying himself and combing his black hair just the way he wanted,</span>
  <span> exited the bathroom and began to get dressed, opting this time for a white button-up shirt and </span>
  <span>a pair of khakis</span>
  <span>. </span>
  <span>Adjusting himself in the mirror, making sure to leave a few buttons on top undone, and grabbing his glasses, he left his room and started brewing his coffee as he messed around on his phone. Pouring himself a cup, he sat down at the table and, after a few minutes, admitted to his aggravation that he was bored by dropping his phone on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>Whatta load of crap. It’s all so borin’ now.</em>
</p><p>
  <span>Outside of work, he couldn’t say anything was memorable. He graduated alongside his friends and still kept in touch every so often. </span>
  <span>They all still texted each other frequently and every now and then one of them would come and visit. Rise came more often than any of them, wanting a new wardrobe every so often for whenever she performed. Yukiko stopped by every now and then for lunch, which Kanji skipped otherwise. </span>
  <span>His Senpai, who told Kanji to call him just Yu now and boy was </span>
  <em>that</em>
  <span> a problem on its own, visited a couple of times along with Yosuke and Teddie. The four had been out on the town a few times. Teddie was difficult and still wanted to fuck anything that moved. They also had somewhat of a difficult time getting him served at bars due to his boyish appearance. Yosuke and Yu apparently got tied </span>
  <span>down</span>
  <span> since </span>
  <span>a couple of years after the two graduated. Yosuke went after Chie, who herself came down once or twice along with Yosuke when she had the opportunity. </span>
  <span>Yu, however, Kanji knew about as he didn’t hear the end of it in his third and final year from Rise. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Look at how in love we are in this picture!’ Gimme a freakin’ break.</em>
  <span> Kanji remembered back to those days. How, after all his Senpais were gone, it took some time to adjust. His time as a </span>
  <span>second and </span>
  <span>third-year went pretty smoothly overall. He was able to keep up his grades and finished school while maintaining momentum with the family business. He wasn’t ever going to be a scholar, but he was okay with that. After graduation, however, it all hit him at once. He couldn’t see his friends near as much as he would like, and everyone was doing their own thing. Some left to do other things around the country—even around the </span>
  <em>world</em>
  <span> in some cases, Kanji noted. Sure a few stuck around, but that was mostly due to ties that they had here. Kanji, after his mother passed, gave a few thoughts about uprooting the business and moving it somewhere else to make himself think he wasn’t as boring as he thought he was. Ultimately he decided against it, but the thought was still there. And on top of all that, there was one thing that still bothered him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Kanji bitterly took a swig of his coffee. </span>
  <em>It ain’t like I ain’t enjoyin’ what I do. But I miss everybody, dammit! I miss hangin’ out with ‘em, I miss bein’ able to shoot the shit, I miss her-”</em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kanji caught himself at the last thought, immediately slamming the coffee cup down on the table much harder than he meant to. </span>
  <em>No, you stop that crap. Don’t even </em>
  <em>
    <b>think</b>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> about her.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> We’re over that now, remember?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji sighed to himself and closed his eyes, standing up from his seat. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Too much thinkin’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span>he resolved. He made his way over to the entrance, scratching his head while looking at the clock. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Half-past six, eh? </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I’ll open early today, who the hell knows?</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> He looked over his display of dolls and patterns available, thinking about switching it for the upcoming Summer weather. Pouring over it all and taking in the details, he did see some work that he did on some of the dolls had been rushed, seeing a few frays there that he must’ve missed when he had first sewn them together.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “Tch,” He let out a sound of disgust. “I’ll just put ‘em up for a discount.” Kanji’s body didn’t move. He stood there, still staring down at the display, looking at the job he failed to finish properly. He sighed. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dammit.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> He then proceeded to go to the back, grabbed a small but mobile sewing kit he had put together, and came back up front, laying it on the mats. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ma’s probably rollin’ in her grave </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>hearin’ me say that kind of shit</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>. </span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span>He snatched the dolls off the shelf, sat down and got to work. </span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t make these kinda mistakes, dammit. </span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span>Kanji shook his head, frustration pouring out of him. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crappy craftsmen who can’t work a freakin’ needle right does this kind of work. </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>C’mon, ya know better than this, ya idiot.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> He made quick work of the first doll’s repairs and went on to the next. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I shoulda moved though. There ain’t much for me here besides the shop. I ain’t old either, I got my whole life to settle down.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> Another doll down, just one more to go. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ain’t like I got family here. Friends are mostly gone too. It don’t matter too much anyways. Not like bein’ friends stopped them from leavin’. Didn’t stop her-” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji, losing focus for a second, stabbed himself in the finger. “Argh, FUCK!” He yelled out, dropping the doll he was working on. He stuck his finger in his mouth in hopes to quell the bleeding. His anger began to fade, a wave of sadness coming along to replace it. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>The hell is wrong with me today? I get it, I’m lonely, but do I gotta think about this shit when I’m doin’ my job? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> A light knock on the door knocked him out of his thoughts, and immediately he was angry once again. “Hey jackass, read the sign! Can’t ya see we ain’t open yet?!” </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>He went back to his thoughts, sticking his finger back in his mouth. A few moments later, he heard a tap once again. He could feel a headache where his scar was begin to come on and got to his feet. Instantly, he was at the door.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>Sliding it open, he began to yell. “Look, ain’t ya got ears, I said we ain’t-”</p><p>The door was all the way open, and Kanji’s anger was gone. Instead, he gulped, not too sure what to say now. All he could muster was a small and stuttering “N...Naoto?”</p><p>The detective, still with her usual get-up, short hair and all, was surprised by the door slamming open. “K-Kanji-kun!” She looked him up and down. “You’ve gotten even taller since we’ve last seen each other.”</p><p>“Uh, y-yeah, I’m up to 196 centimeters.” Kanji noted that she hasn’t grown anymore since high school though. He wasn’t too sure to be excited or to be mortified. The two stood there for a moment until Naoto adjusted her hat and cleared her throat, prompting Kanji to remember his manners. “Oh yeah, shit, come on in!”</p><p>Naoto accepted the invitation and walked into the front room. She looked down at the scene before her: three dolls strung around on the floor, one of them still in need of repair but it looked like it was well away from the sewing kit. “Was the outburst just a moment ago a result of...this?” She gestured at everything before her, turn her head ever so slightly to look back at Kanji.</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “Oh, yeah, s’pose y-ya woulda heard t-that.” </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Kanji tried to control his stuttering, although it seemed to be a fruitless effort. </span>
  </span>
</p><p>“I’d be shocked if the entirety of the neighborhood didn’t hear it, Kanji-kun.” Naoto said plainly. “Your mannerisms don’t exactly allow for aggression that is subtle.”</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, she sure ain’t changed any.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> “Yeah, yeah, I’m a loud-mouthed hard-head, I got that pinned down already.” Kanji found himself at a loss for what he should do next. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ain’t seen her in awhile. Why the hell’s she here now? </span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span>“Here, gimme a sec and I’ll get some tea goin’ for the both of us. You got the time, right?” </span>
  </span>
</p><p>“Of course. I don’t have any arrangements made for the day, so I’m free to do as I please.” Naoto nodded at Kanji, noting that the shop owner was particularly on edge.</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “A-Alright, if that’s the case...” Kanji trailed off and grabbed a wooden sign from behind the entrance to the storefront. He blew the dust that had built up on it off and made his way again to the door where Naoto had entered. Stepping outside for a second, he put up a sign that read </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Closed for the Day. Sorry for the inconvenience.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> He stepped back inside and shut the doors once more. “There, shouldn’t be a problem now.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>Naoto raised her brows. “That isn’t going to hurt your business, is it?”</p><p><span><span> Kanji made his way past her, a smirk on his face. “Nah, it’ll be fine. Wasn’t s’posed to open for another hour anyways and I don’t have a lot of people comin’ in on a Monday. </span></span><span><span>`Sides, I need a day off every now and then.” </span></span><span><span>Stepping into the kitchen,</span></span> <span><span>h</span></span><span><span>e grabbed the kettle sitting on his counter </span></span><span><span>and took it over to the sink</span></span><span><span>. </span></span><em><span>No need for nothin’ fancy, </span></em><span><span>he </span></span><span><span>convinced himself</span></span><span><span>. </span></span><em><span>Just </span></em><em><span>a friend</span></em><em><span> over is all.</span></em></p><p>Naoto curiously looked at him as he filled up the pot with water. “You don’t take days off?”</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji shrugged as he turned on the front burner of his stove-top. “Eh, it ain’t often that I do. Work ain’t hard and it’s somethin’ I enjoy doin’, so there ain’t much of a need to. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Don’t really take vacations either, now that ya mention it.” He placed the kettle, now with water in it, on the burner and turned around, leaning himself against the counter to the side of his stove. “More s’prised about you though. Ain’t got anything else goin’ on today? Whaddya doin’ here so early anyways?” </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>He stuck his hand out towards the table, gesturing for Naoto to take a seat as he did his own. </span>
  </span>
</p><p>Naoto obliged, taking a seat of her own, crossing her legs and clasping her hands together in her lap. “Well, to be perfectly honest, I was summoned here by the police force. Dojima-san made the request to me personally, and I wasn’t about to turn him down after the work we’ve done in the past. Unfortunately—or rather, fortunately—the case I was to assist with wrapped up rather abruptly before I was able to be told the news. I had made plans to stay here for a few weeks, but now I’m just waiting for the next case to come across my desk. Until then, I’m just in town, so I’ve made it a point to visit everyone when I have the time.” Naoto paused for a moment, thinking over her next words. Kanji was about to speak up, but she stopped him. “And as for why I’m here this early, I typically begin my day at five in the morning. I remember your old sleep schedule from high school, so I took a guess as to when you were going to awaken. Was I correct in my timing?”</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji heard just a bit too much eagerness to prove herself right. “</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Yeah, ya still got it right on the money. I try to wake up by five-thirty, earlier if I can help it any. Gives me time to wake up all proper and get all the grumpy shit outta my system so I ain’t gettin’ pissy at customers when they come through the door.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>“Because you were so pleasant to me this morning.” Naoto beamed at him, causing her friend to blush.</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “L-Look, everyone’s got off days, alright?” Kanji looked away, gritting his teeth. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn, can’t believe she still has this stupid-ass effect on me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>“I’m just teasing, Kanji-kun. Back to what I was saying, I came by just to catch up.”</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Course that’s the only reason. Don’t get hopeful now, ya freakin’ idiot.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji heard the kettle begin to scream as it released steam and made his way to the stove once again, turning off the burner upon arriving and moving the kettle to another burner that was off. He dug out some tea cups, setting up the tea correctly and pouring the boiling hot water into them. “Well I hate to disappoint ya, but I ain’t got anything interestin’ goin’ on, Naoto. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Ain’t got any family to worry ‘bout, friends come by every now and then but nothin’ too crazy happened. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>I work, I eat, and I sleep. That’s it.” He turned around and placed one of the cups in front of her and one in front of his seat.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>“So nothing has changed at all since we last saw each other?” Naoto questioned, waiting on her tea to cool before trying to drink it.</p><p>Kanji shrugged as he took his seat. “S’been, what, four years? Five? Kinda just threw myself into my work, took a you approach.”</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “I’m uncertain if I’m supposed to take that as a compliment.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Kanji picked up his tea and it almost touched his lips before deciding it just might be a bit too warm to ingest. “After ma passed, started workin’ less. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Figured it ain’t healthy to do what I was doin’ for too long and, frankly, I was startin’ to feel burnt out.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>I heard about your mother’s passing. I’m...” Naoto trailed off, looking away with a pained expression. “I’m sorry to hear that. She was a wonderful woman to me whenever I was over. I regret being unable to come to her funeral.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “Hey, I get it,” Kanji said, trying to keep down any sour thoughts. “Ya gotta job that makes ya travel a bunch. Can’t be everywhere at once.” </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>But would it have killed ya to just show up </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <b>once?</b>
  </em>
  
  <span>
    <span>Kanji shook his head, stopping those thoughts from persisting.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>“No, I should have made the time to come down to attend. I am truly, truly sorry about being unable to show, Kanji-kun.” Naoto still bore a look of sorrow.</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “Like I said, don’t be.” Kanji replied plainly. “No sense in wastin’ energy on the past.” </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, like you got the room to talk, idiot.</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> He racked his brain for a change of subject so he and Naoto wouldn’t just be stuck on this loop forever. “Still though, gotta imagine you’re doin’ pretty well. I keep on seein’ headlines with you crackin’ case after case wide open.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>Naoto, finally going back to her natural state of seriousness, nodded to him. “I have been making good progress in my work. Even as a woman in this field, I have been making great strides. If no other work pops up for me in the coming weeks, I at least have one more job lined up in Osaka.”</p><p>“And ya aren’t gonna tell ‘em you can come and help early?”</p><p>“Well, I fear they may not be ready for me yet. Aside from that, it has been a long time since I last took a break. I just figured I would take the opportunity to take said break in the town where I hold my most treasured memories.” Naoto leaned forward with a grin, grabbing her tea and sipping on it.</p><p>“Even workaholics need to reset their clocks, yeah?” Kanji mirrored Naoto, grabbing his own tea, but instead choosing to take a full drink of it. “Makes sense.”</p><p>“I don’t consider myself a workaholic. I am just <em>enthusiastic</em> about the work I do.” Naoto looked away with a knowing simper, causing Kanji to chuckle.</p><p>“That’s such a crock of shit, Shirogane.” Kanji shook his head with a huge smirk. “Takin’ a wild guess of my own here, but you don’t got a whole lotta stories outside of work goin’ on either, huh?”</p><p>Naoto looked back at him, her smile still there. “Due to the nature of my work, I don’t have time to see much of anyone. I’ve seen everyone at least once since our graduation, but-”</p><p>“’Cept me.”</p><p>Kanji went wide-eyed. <em>What the hell did you just say ya </em><em><b>fucking</b></em><em> moron? This is </em><em><b>not</b></em><em> how you go talkin’ to a friend!</em> “Uh, um, shit. Look, forget I said that, it just k-kinda slipped outta my mo-”</p><p>“Well,” Naoto cut him off, her voice dropping a bit. “We didn’t exactly leave ourselves on the best of terms, did we?”</p><p>“Look, Naoto, forget I said anythin. We ain’t seen each other in years, I don’t wanna mess it up-”</p><p>“No, it’s obviously eating you up if you’re letting it slip out like that. So we should address this.”</p><p>Kanji donned a scowl, becoming agitated by her insistence. “Now ya don’t run away, huh?”</p><p>Naoto matched Kanji’s scowl. “What do you mean by that?”</p><p>“You had some freakin’ balls to just waltz back into here like nothin’ ever happened.” Kanji stated, his glare still present. “Do ya know how bad you fucked me up?”</p><p>“Kanji, it was never my intention to hurt you.”</p><p>Kanji stood up and slammed his hands on the table, rattling the tea cups. “Then what the hell <em>were </em>your intentions?! Ya don’t just run away from your best friend, on graduation day, when he tells you his feelins’ for you and then ghost him for five! Fucking! Years!” Kanji felt tears coming to his eyes, but he still felt anger. “Ya couldn’t even do me the service of breakin’ my heart face-to-face?! Ya had to just run away?! That’s why I threw myself into my work! I needed a fuckin’ distraction!” Kanji sat back down, trembling now, not too sure if it was anger or if it was every single pent up emotion over the past five years coming out. He lowered his voice. “All you had to do was tell me ‘no,’ that’s it. You runnin’ away made me think that was what you really felt about me. Like ya just kept me around in high-school as some big dumb wall of meat to protect ya. Like ya took the first opportunity ya could to get away as far from me as ya could.” Kanji took off his glasses and set them down on the table in front of him. He attempted to do his best to wipe the tears from his eyes.</p><p>Naoto sat there the whole time, wearing an expression of guilt. “I’m...I’m sorry Kanji-kun. I know it wasn’t tactful of me to just abandon you like that. It’s just, when you told me your feelings, it was unexpected, and I didn’t know how to respond, so I ran. After a few days, when I had finally calmed down, I realized then that it was too late to make any amends. I felt so hollow. I had lost my best friend because I failed to figure out how to react in a way that was appropriate.” Naoto gulped, fighting back some tears of her own. “So I moved along with my life. I still have your number saved and every now and then, I had the urge to text you. I just wanted to tell you everything I was sorry for. And here we are now, and I was hoping to at the very least make peace with you.” Naoto stood up, catching Kanji off-guard. He saw tears beginning to run down her face. “I apologize, I should have guessed I wouldn’t be welcome here. I will take my leave.”</p><p>As Naoto turned for the door, Kanji quickly got up from his seat and latched onto her shoulder, stopping her. Naoto remained there with her back turned to Kanji. <em>The hell am I doin’? Just let her go man.</em> “W-Wait, Naoto.” <em>Your life would be so much easier if ya just let her go. </em>“I ain’t sure what I’m doin’ right now. Guess I acted on instinct or somethin’. Wasn’t s’posed to bring this crap up again.” Kanji shook his head. “Crap, sorry, ramblin’ again. Look, all that nothin’ is to say that I don’t want ya to run away again. That’s the last thing I want. I ain’t ever expected ya to show up here after all that shit years ago. Wasn’t prepared for it. Ain’t much of an excuse, I know. Bottom line is that I didn’t mean to yell at ya like I did.”</p><p>Naoto wiped away her tears, trying to bring back a calm steady voice. “It sounded as if you had been holding that in for years. I wasn’t aware that you hadn’t talked to anyone about it.”</p><p>“Ain’t from a lack of tryin’ on their part. `Specially Rise. Damn girl kept on tryin’ to get me to patch things up with ya.” Kanji looked up at the ceiling. “I just figured I’d get the hell over it by myself. Managed to convince myself I did, wasn’t really though. Every now and then a thought of ya would pop up in my head and I’d get all worked up. Was every emotion rangin’ from anger to depressed.” Kanji took in a heavy breath. “Today was one of those days before ya came in. Didn’t help much I was thinkin’ `bout the past five years and how little I did.”</p><p>Naoto turned around to face him once again. “I’m unsure as to what I need to say Kanji-k...Kanji.” Naoto gulped. “At the end of the day, there isn’t much more I can say than what I already have. I lament the fact that I should have taken the initiative myself and made some type of effort to apologize sooner. I wish I was there for you when your mother passed, and I wish I was there for you at all these past five years. But no amount of wishing that I do can ever change what I did or what I’m doing. I will respect whatever your decision you make regarding our friendship. The best I can ask for is to be able spend time with my best friend again, but I understand if you don’t see me in that same light as you did once upon a time.”</p><p>Kanji folded his arms and dipped his head down, having his chin meet his chest. <em>Well man, ball’s in your court. Nobody would blame ya for tellin’ her to get the hell out. Y’know, ‘cept maybe Rise, but ya can always patch things up with her pretty quick. </em>He sighed. <em>On the other hand, this is Naoto we’re talkin’ about. I...I wanna be there for her again. If nothin’ else, at least one more time.</em></p><p>“Well, Naoto,” Kanji started, bring his eyes back up to face her. “Ya hurt me. I could get over being told no, but these past few years have been hell for me `cause I thought I’d been used.” Kanji swallowed his pride. “But even with all that, I know I ain’t gonna stay mad at ya forever. And I’m gonna regret it if I don’t fix this now rather than later. So,” Kanji took a step forward. “Whaddya think about us hangin’ out a few more times while you’re here? Y’know, outside of today? That is, uh, if that’s somethin’ you <em>wanna </em>do. If ya don’t have time, I’d get that, y’know? Totally would unde-”</p><p>“I would like that very much, Kanji.” Naoto shot him the most genuine smile he had seen on anyone in such a long time, the tears now drying up on her cheeks.</p><p>“U-Uh, y-yeah! Awesome!” Kanji flashed a smile back at her, his face a bit red. He stood around awkwardly for a second, seeking the next thing to do or talk about. He looked back at the table. “Ah, crap, our tea’s probably cold by now!”</p><p>So the two sat back down, and after that, the conversation flowed smoothly. They talked about the past five years, the places Naoto has been, some horror stories that they both have gone through with their line of work, and what their plans for the future were. It was all so lively, much different than how the residence sounded a majority of the time. It was as if they had still been the friends they were back in high school all over again.</p><p>Eventually, Kanji looked at the clock. “Crap, already noon huh?”</p><p>Naoto looked at him funny. “Were there other obligations you forgot about?”</p><p>Kanji shook his head. “Nah, just can’t believe how easily time flew by.”</p><p>Naoto, leaning back in her seat, looking pleased. “You know, I noticed a while ago, but I never said anything. You have gotten much better at being able to speak with me compared to how you were in the past.”</p><p>“Guess I ain’t as scared as I was back then.” Kanji shrugged. “Don’t want ya to get the wrong idea, I’m still nervous talkin’ to ya and I gotta focus real hard on us talkin’ so I don’t start stutterin’.”</p><p>“From what you told me about your escapades with Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie, you must have gotten some experience speaking to women.” Naoto stated.</p><p>Kanji laughed. “Nah, those nights were for me and my bros. `Sides, ain’t like I had much interest in anyone. Didn’t have the time for it either.”</p><p>“Ah, I see.” Naoto curiously grabbed her tea and looked at the floor in the corner of her eye, which Kanji had been generous enough to refill for her, and sipped on it.</p><p>“What about you?”</p><p>Naoto’s eyes darted back towards her friend. “I’m not too sure what you’re asking me.”</p><p>“C’mon, I’m sure Rise or any of the others tried to set ya up on some dates with some people they knew.”</p><p>Naoto cocked her head to the side and sighed. “Fortunately I have been blessed with not having the time to deal with such things.”</p><p>“Kinda hard to believe Rise wouldn’t force ya to go on a date.”</p><p>“Well, she did try to force me on one in particular that I didn’t mind. She told me she could set it up and all I had to do was show up. I didn’t do it, much to her chagrin.” Naoto nodded, although she looked a bit nervous from what Kanji could tell.</p><p>“Oh yeah, who was the lucky guy that missed out, huh?” Kanji lifted his own tea to his mouth.</p><p>“You.” Naoto confessed sharply, grabbing her hat and hiding her gaze. Kanji had almost choked, immediately setting down the tea he was holding and clearing up a coughing fit. Naoto lifted up her hat ever so slightly to get a good look at him. “Um, are you going to be okay?”</p><p><em>That’s it. I’m just gonna die today.</em> “Y-Yeah...” His forehead was flat on the table. “Yeah, just had a bit of a heart attack is all.”</p><p>“...should I call an amublance or-”</p><p>“Jokin’, Naoto.” Kanji turned his head up towards her. He was glad that even she still had her airhead moments.</p><p>“O-Oh, yes, of course.” She looked towards the ground again, this time with embarrassment that she didn’t catch on sooner.</p><p>Kanji lifted his head up. “How the hell was Rise plannin’ on gettin’ my ass to go on a date with ya? You and I, we weren’t exactly talkin’ then, yeah?”</p><p>“She claimed she would ‘figure something out.’ I’m actually not too sure if she had thought any of it through and just hoped that I would take it upon myself to reach out to you.” Naoto sat up in her seat, resting her hands on her lap again. “Rise has been like this since high-school, so I have found myself used to it by now, thankfully.”</p><p>“She bugged your ass about in school too?” Kanji furrowed his brows and leaned back in his chair. “God, I thought she was just givin’ me crap, tryin’ to get me to ask ya out.”</p><p>“I see. She must have been very adamant about the two of us and saw something there.” Naoto shifted her arms, crossing them and placing chin in her hand.</p><p>“Goin’ into your thinkin’ mode, huh?”</p><p>Naoto quickly let go of her chin, startled by what Kanji said. “M-My what?”</p><p>“Your thinkin’ mode. Y’know, where it kinda looks like you’re focusin’ way too hard on stuff. Usually you cross your legs too, but ya didn’t this time, so probably wasn’t thinkin’ too hard, now was ya?” Kanji finished the sentence with a toothy grin, but it quickly faltered when he saw Naoto look away once more. “Did I say somethin’ wrong?”</p><p>“I didn’t think that you paid too much mind to it. It’s just a habit I developed, I apologize.”</p><p>“What the hell are ya apologizin’ for? It ain’t like you were hurtin’ nobody doin’ that. And I used to pay all my mind to it. I...” Kanji trailed off. “I, uh, used to love seein’ ya think that hard. It showed how much ya cared, y’know? I-It didn’t, um, matter h-how little whatever the hell you were doin’ mattered, ya always thought shit through one-hundred percent of the way.” <em>What the hell am I sayin’?</em> Despite that thought, and Naoto’s now surprised expression, Kanji’s lips kept moving, although he lowered his head so he wasn’t eye to eye with her. “I always a-admired that, uh, part of ya, y’know? T-The fact ya always looked so fr-freakin’ cute doin’ it was just a bonus.”</p><p>Those last words hung in the air. Despite being around men that were possible more book-smart than Kanji, she was dubious as what to say more times than she could care to count today. She wanted to say something back to him, but the words just evaded her even though they came so easy to her all the times prior. Naoto would admit that the situation she found herself in was unprecedented, as it wasn’t her intentions to discuss...<em>this</em> with Kanji today. And cute? Rise would always tell her that she was cute as a means to tease the detective, but she didn’t think that she could ever possess that quality, especially back in high-school. In hindsight it was obvious that Kanji had thought her to be this way for a long time, but to hear him actually come out with it was something she never expected. She pleaded with her inner dictionary to find her the right words for the situation. Why did they elude her so?</p><p>She didn’t get a chance to respond. “Ah, shit, there I go runnin’ my mouth again.” Kanji stood up. “Sorry Naoto, didn’t mean to jabber to ya like that.” He sighed, looking over at the doorway to the kitchen. “Look, all this stuff on my mind, I ain’t sure if I’m gonna be good for talkin’ anymore today. Can we call it a day?”</p><p>Naoto stood up, looking up at the man. “Um, yes, of course, if that’s what you feel is best. It seems that we’re both out of the sorts from trying to recover from our earlier argument. Perhaps it would be best for us to retire for the day.”</p><p><em>Good job idiot, she’s desperate to get outta her now. </em>“Here, I’ll get ya to the door. Least I can do.” Kanji led his old friend and crush back to the entrance, where she proceeded to slip her shoes back on, and went to open the front door. As she slid the door open, Kanji, who was biting his tongue to say anything this whole time, couldn’t take himself anymore. “Goddammit, w-wait Naoto, I’m so-”</p><p>“Would you like to go somewhere with me this Friday Kanji? Just the two of us?” Naoto stayed facing out towards the world still. “Or did you have plans already made?”</p><p>Kanji stopped dead in his tracks. A million thoughts bounced around in his brain, but only one stuck out to him: <em>Did this fuckin’ girl just ask me out on a date?</em> His mouth felt so dry in the moment. So it amazed even him when he could squeak out an “Of course!”</p><p>Naoto clutched at her chest, a hidden smile on her face. She turned back around, unveiling her pearly whites. “Then I suppose I will see you on Friday then. Text me, okay?” With that, she turned once again towards the exit and closed the door behind her.</p><p>Kanji was speechless. He stood there completely dumbfounded, still processing what happened. He then took out his phone and checked to make sure that he hadn’t deleted Naoto’s number at any point. With that confirmed and out of the way, he walked back in to his room and laid down on his bed where he determined he would remain the rest of the day. He thought of the conversation from earlier over and over again. Kanji wasn’t a mind-reader, so he couldn’t tell if the girl had planned to ask him out from the start or not. In the end, it didn’t matter to him either way. What mattered was that she was giving him the chance he wanted all this time. Whether it was pity for him or not was the only thing that bugged Kanji a bit, but something that he didn’t let linger. He was going to do everything he could not to mess it all up. For now, he chose to rest his brain, as everything today had completely fried his circuits. With a smile resting neatly upon his face, he let one thought permeate.</p><p>
  <em>Huh, today ain’t so bad after all.</em>
</p><p>That would have been his last thought, but as predictable as it was, Kanji could not have foreseen his stomach growling, begging for some form of food to be put in it. He exhaled a dense breath.</p><p>
  <em>Dammit.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Fear</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Naoto Shirogane, just finishing up her talk with one Kanji Tatsumi, walked down the street of the shopping district, not quite sure as to what she was going to do next. Her next actions were the last thing on her mind anyways. Some aura of pure confidence had overtaken her in her final moments of her visit and she had gone and asked the boy out on a date. It was completely unlike her to be interested in anything even slightly romantic. Rise had tried for years and years, and there were even pushes from others within her group of friends. But all it took was one visit with Kanji—after a five year spell of no contact with him—for <em>her</em><span> to be the one to ask </span><em>him</em><span> out. It wasn’t even in her plans to do that either! What kind of a free-willed confident spirit just grabbed onto the reigns of her mind and took control like that?</span></p><p>
  <span> On another note, when in the world would she ever have the time for a relationship? Naoto’s job asks that she constantly be on the move going from one crime case to the next. Even if this thing with Kanji did work out, when would she come to see him? Dojima only asks for her assistance every once in a blue moon, and when she would be down here, she would be working almost full-time and then would immediately have to move on to the next case. </span>
  <span>Naoto let out a small, low-pitched groan as she tugged down on her cap. </span>
</p><p><em>It isn’t like it’d be a terrible thing to do though, right?</em><span> The thought entered Naoto’s mind, and just as quickly as it had come, she pushed it back out. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that it wasn’t going to be a bad time; as a matter of fact, she considered herself and Kanji very compatible with one another. There was a reason that they had become best friends in high school. He and Naoto were always there for one another, keeping each other’s most disturbed and doubtful thoughts in check. </span><span>At times in the past, they protected each other during their most vulnerable moments. Heck, even while dancing together something clicked instantly even with her smoother style contrasting with Kanji’s more rigid stances.</span> <span>And s</span><span>everal nights were spent at either her or Kanji’s place watching some action movies </span><span>or having some thought-provoking discussions that she typically initiated, but wanted Kanji’s unique views on</span><span>. </span><span>Looking back on it, she never put two and two together that most of the activities that they did together were things that </span><em>she </em><span>had suggested. On top of the things they did together, s</span><span>he challenged him intellectually, and he challenged her emotionally. </span><span>He was a perfect foil for her. </span><span>They always, as Kanji had put it back when they were still fighting Shadows, ‘Had each other’s backs.’ </span></p><p><em>Except for the one time it had mattered most, apparently.</em> <span>Naoto cringed at the memory of her running away from her friend right after they had just graduated. He even prefaced it by telling her that he didn’t want her to beat around the bush. And it wasn’t like she couldn’t see the question ever popping up. The young detective had known about Kanji’s crush from the very beginning. After a long time of waiting for him to ask her on a date during their time in school, Naoto had just kind of assumed that the question was never going to be asked and that her rough, yet fragile, friend was going to settle on </span><em>staying</em><span> friends. So when Kanji Tatsumi stopped her that one final day that they would be walking home from school together and pulled her aside, her fight or flight instincts kicked into high gear. Her heart was beating a million kilometers an hour, and she just wasn’t prepared to face what she was feeling. She didn’t know why, but her legs just started moving, causing her to sprint away. What she hated the most about that day more than anything was that she didn’t even turn her head around to see him. Perhaps she would have changed her mind had she seen what she had just done to the young man. There were so many regrets about her actions that she couldn’t </span><span>even begin to pinpoint every single thing that she could have done differently. Other than just simply standing her ground.</span></p><p>Naoto was beyond frustrated with herself at this point in her thinking. She stuck her hands in her pockets and grumbled to herself about how she didn’t know what part of her took over that thought the best way to remedy this situation was to ask Kanji out on a date. And she didn’t even know where to start with what they would be doing on a date. It wasn’t like she was clueless as to what people typically do—couples go to the movies, dinner, sometimes go on walks in the park or something along those lines. Okay, so she wasn’t completely sure as to everything that people do, but to be fair to herself, she usually skimmed over the romance parts of her crime novels to get to what she considered to be the good parts. But what was important here is that she knew the basic things.</p><p>And then her brain had decided to bring up one more mortifying thought to her. She had heard stories before of what happens when a date goes <em>really</em> well between the couple and one invites the other back to their place. <em>What if </em><em><b>our</b></em><em><span> date goes ‘really well?’ </span></em><span>She covered her face with her hands instantly </span><span>to hide the pink color it had become. </span><em><span>Couples don’t do that on the first date, do they? No, no, of course not. </span></em><span>Naoto quelled the thoughts that seemed to explode out of nowhere and breathed in deeply. </span></p><p>“Okay Shirogane, focus.” She told herself. “Get some lunch first, and then...” Naoto let out a sigh as she trailed off and dug out her phone from her pocket. “You’re going to need some guidance from someone more well-versed on this subject than you.”</p><hr/><p>Rise closed her eyes and calmly leaned her head backwards, letting herself melt in the seat of her driver’s car. While she didn’t hate doing fan meet-ups, they tended to be a taxing experience for her, draining her of all want to deal with anyone else for the day. Thankfully, that was the case, as the rest of her schedule was clear minus her workouts in the evening. The idol was preparing to transition purely over to the singing side of the business once her contract was up with her talent agency. She felt her star was big enough to warrant the move, and it would allow her more freedom over how she did things and spent her time. Besides, she was on thin ice with her talent agency once they found out she hadn’t broken up with Yu like she said she would some time ago. But she was their lead idol, so she knew she had a safety net and they would practically be begging for her to renew her contract when it was up. Rise couldn’t wait to tell them to, as her tough tailor friend used to say, ‘get bent.’</p><p>A buzzing noise brought her out of her thoughts. Looking down to the seat beside her, she picked up her phone and swiped at the screen. To her surprise, it wasn’t Yu or Teddie or anyone that she thought it would be. Instead, the name that popped up was Naoto. She was excited, but she found it odd that Naoto had reached out to text <em>her</em> first.</p><p><em>(13:16) </em><b>Naoto:</b> ARE YOU FREE RN? Y/N.</p><p>Rise grimaced at the text. While smart phones were convenient, she had always hated the fact that they had taken away any personality you could have in your texts, what with auto-correct and such being a feature. Shoving the thought to the recesses of her mind, she put on a smile, happy that the detective prince had still kept up with her all-caps messages over the years.</p><p><em>(13:17)</em> <b>Rise:</b> Oh, you know I’m always free for you! &lt;3</p><p>Less than ten seconds after sending the text, Rise’s phone began to vibrate again showing a phone call this time. She pressed on the circular green phone symbol and swiped on it before putting it up to her ear. With a smile resting on her face, she answered the phone in her normal idol-tone. “And what pleasure do I have to be speaking with the cutest detective ever?!”</p><p>Naoto, who was now sitting at a gazebo in a park with her lunch, felt her neck heat up. She knew that nobody could hear her—at least, she didn’t think they could—but her friend’s teasing still made her look around and want to shush her. She groaned after her scan was complete. “Ugh, I had a feeling this would prove to be a mistake.”</p><p>“You don’t get to complain, missy! You’re the one who called <em>me</em> after all!” Rise pouted.</p><p>The realization set in for Naoto. <em>Oh dear heavens, I </em><em><b>was</b></em> <em>the one to call her. </em></p><p>
  <em>For advice on dating. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dating Kanji.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Today has been strange</em>
  <em>. </em>
</p><p>Naoto shook her head to bring herself back into the conversation and focus. “That aside, I need your instruction on a subject that you may be more familiar with than I.”</p><p>“Oooo!” Rise’s voice raised in pitch. “If you wanted to learn how to sing, you should’ve just asked me, silly! I would bring you on tour with me in a heartbeat!”</p><p>“Rise, you <em>know</em> that isn’t my purpose for calling.” Naoto didn’t even want to give her the satisfaction of entertaining that fantasy.</p><p>Rise puffed her cheeks. “You’re no fun! At least let me tease you a little!”</p><p>“I’m sure it’ll happen regardless as we progress with our talk.” Naoto admitted. Before Rise could get another word in, Naoto decided to continue with haste. “Nevertheless, I would like to tell you the context of my situation as I see it vital to what I need your assistance with. You see, I arrived in Inaba on business, but due to certain circumstances, I was no longer needed on the case. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have shown up, but I had already reached my destination by the time I received the news. In any case, I found myself-”</p><p>“Oh, you’re back in Inaba?! How long have you been there?!” It appeared that Rise had just connected the dots.</p><p>Naoto sighed, knowing that she would have to get through this part first. “I have only been here for about a day’s time. To answer any further questions, I will more than likely be located here until approximately the end of this month, giving me around eighteen days of leisure to use as I see fit. That is, unless a case needs my work elsewhere.”</p><p>“Hmph, can’t even let a girl ask questions!” Rise said, a tone of fake-annoyance in her voice. She then took in a sharp gasp, stopping Naoto from beginning her next waterfall of words. “Oh wait! That gives you so much time! You should totally see Yukiko while you’re there! Are you staying at the inn?! Try and patch things up with Moronji while you’re at it!”</p><p>Naoto, still aware of the fact that Rise couldn’t see her, gulped and tucked down on her hat hearing the last sentence. “Um, I...did...already.” Her words were spoken slowly.</p><p>“Did what already? I listed off a lot of things there.”</p><p>“Talked to, um, Kanji...kun...”At the other end of the line, there was silence. Giving her friend a few moments and not hearing anything, Naoto questioned her. “H-Hello? Rise-sa-”</p><p>“You WHAT?!” Rise screamed into her phone, causing her driver to swerve for a second before regaining his composure, and causing her friend to reel back and pull the phone away from her ear. “Oh my GOD, that’s GREAT! You actually WENT! I didn’t even have to tell you to do it, you went on your own too!”</p><p><em>No, it’s okay, I didn’t enjoy listening to music, talking to people, or just </em><em><b>hearing things in general.</b></em> Naoto calmed herself before gingerly setting the phone back to her ear. “You’re awful presumptuous that the visit went well.”</p><p>“Well did it?!” Rise asked impatiently.</p><p>“...yes. I think.”</p><p>“You think? You’re like the ultimate detective or whatever, aren’t you?! What’s this guessing game stuff?!” Rise couldn’t believe that her friend would operate knowing ‘<em>I think’</em> was the best answer she had. “What did you talk about? Are you guys still talking? Does he still have his stupid black hair or did he dye it blonde again?”</p><p>Naoto, ignoring that last part, nodded before smacking herself on the forehead. <em>Phone call, you imbecile. What is wrong with you today? </em>“Y-Yes, we are. We managed to talk about what happened all those years ago and what went wrong. Kanji-kun still harbored some ill will towards me, understandably, and was very...<em>passionate</em> about how he presented it.”</p><p>“He <em>yelled</em> at you?! Oh, he is going to get a piece of my-”</p><p>“No no, it is quite alright, Rise-san. It was unexpected, yes, but it was nothing I didn’t think I deserved. In the end, we both apologized to each other. From there, we just had a casual conversation.”</p><p>“Aw man,” Rise frowned. “I was kinda hoping that story would end in a happily ever after.”</p><p>Initially, Naoto was silent, receiving further prodding from her friend. Finally, she was able to muster out the words “Um...well...d-depending on your definition of a ‘happily ever after,’ th-that’s not t-too far off from what happened.” She immediately placed her phone away from her ear in preparation for the oncoming tirade of squeaking screams. <em>Fool me once…</em></p><p>But there were no screams, for upon hearing the news, if it meant what Rise thought it did, her eyes widened and her mouth was agape. She leaned forward in her seat and tapped her driver on the shoulder. “Do me a favor and find a lot you can park in then take a smoke break. I have some business to discuss.” The driver didn’t need much convincing and simply nodded. Rise slid back down into her seat and put her phone back to her ear. “Hey Naoto, you still there?”</p><p>Surprised by how quiet it was, Naoto found her phone pressed against her ear again. “Um, yes Rise-san?”</p><p>“Gimme a sec, okay? I wanna give this talk a bit of privacy.” Rise knew it was just her and her driver in the car, so she technically didn’t need to do this. But she knew how important this whole ordeal was to Naoto, and it was equally important to Rise because goddammit she had been sailing this ship for years and she was not gonna let either of them screw it up. So she opted for a way where she could speak more freely.</p><p>The driver pulled into a lot where there was an empty space. Rise again lowered her phone, this time digging into her purse to pull out a ten-thousand yen banknote. She leaned forward again and slipped it into his pocket, patting it after and smiling. “Take your time, okay? Don’t be afraid to go for a walk, just take the keys and lock the doors.” Rise didn’t mind if he left the car alone. It didn’t stand out, and the windows were blacked out, so nobody could see her inside. The driver just nodded and grinned, getting out of the car and delving into his pockets searching for a pack of cigarettes.</p><p>Rise leaned back into her seat again. “Okay Naoto, we’re alone now on my end. How about yours?”</p><p>“Well, I’m in the park.” She confessed, looking around. “But there doesn’t seem to be anybody nearby.”</p><p>“Good.” Rise stated. “Now that we’re in the clear...<em>OH MY GOD ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!</em>”</p><p>Naoto winced in pain again, not able to pull her phone away in time. “You need to start giving me a warning when you intend on screaming.”</p><p>Rise ignored her. “Oh. My. <em>GOD</em>, Naoto! I was going to joke about ‘Oh, how about going on a pity date’ or something! Not that you’d ever date someone out of pity, that totally isn’t you and you wouldn’t hurt Kanji like that, but whatever, that doesn’t matter!”</p><p>“Rise-san, please calm yourself. You’re going to go into hysterics.” Naoto adjusted the cap on her head. “And you seem much more excited about this than I am.”</p><p>“Well duh, of course I am! I’ve been pushing this for almost <em>eight years! </em>Then there was that first confession and...well...” Rise trailed off, biting her lip and searching for a polite word. Ultimately she settled on “Yikes, but I just <em>knew</em> that Kanji would pull through for me!” Rise was sitting upright at full attention. “So tell me, how’d he ask?”</p><p>“H-How’d he ask what?”</p><p>“Stop playing dumb already, it doesn’t suit you even a teensy bit! Yeesh!” Rise rolled her eyes. “What’d he do, hand you a secret little Naoto doll that he had been working on?! Oh, did he cook you a romantic brunch with your favorite food?! Oh my god, I know, he-”</p><p>“Okay you can stop now Rise-san.” Naoto rubbed her eyes. “Look, it...it wasn’t him who asked me. I..” She let out an exasperated sigh and started making imaginary patterns on the table with her free hand. “I asked him.”</p><p>Rise didn’t know what to say. It was like a cuteness overload to her. She found herself practically drooling at the thought of Naoto asking Kanji out. It was everything that she asked for out of the two of them and much, much more. After years and years of torturing the duo and trying to persuade them into talking to each other about it, the Beauty and the Beast had finally done it themselves. She found herself almost moved to tears, fanning at her face.</p><p>“Naoto, I’m...” Rise sniffled. “I’m so proud of you!”</p><p>Naoto’s eyes were wide again. “Are...are you crying?”</p><p>“I’m not crying, you’re crying, shut-up.” Rise wiped away at a tear. “I’m just so, <em>so </em>happy. I’ve got a sugar rush from all this <em>sweetness</em> I’m hearing!”</p><p>“Can we just advance past this for now? Please? I didn’t call to discuss the how, I called to discuss the...<em>how</em>.” Naoto fumbled on her words, but was quick to follow-up on her failed explanation. “I am uncertain in my abilities to conduct a proper date that would result in a nice time for myself and Kanji-kun. I put myself into this predicament, so I intend to see it through in its entirety and carry it out to the fullest of my potential.”</p><p>Rise laid down across the seat she was on. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you managed to find a way to make going on a date sound boring. This is something where you two are supposed to have <em>fun</em>, remember? This isn’t some life-or-death mission! So the first piece of <em>Risette’s Dating Advice</em> would have to be calm down a bit silly! You sound so freaking stiff!”</p><p>Naoto fought the urge to grab at her hat. “I apologize. It didn’t mean to-”</p><p>“See, this is what I mean!” Rise sat up while interrupting her friend. “Don’t say you’re sorry for being stiff! Just be you a little bit more. I know what you’re capable of; I’ve seen you dance before! And for that matter, so did Moronji and giiiirrrrrrrl, you about made him lose his mind with the way you were moving those hips, I swear! I’m not even gay, but I would <em>totally</em>-”</p><p>“Enough, please, for my sanity.” Naoto just wanted to curl up in a ball and stop this talk from happening. <em>Why on </em><em><b>earth</b></em><em> did I think this was a good idea? Good lord Shirogane, have you lost your mind?</em></p><p>“Look, bottom line is this: he’s going to be nervous too. Hell, knowing Moronji, he’s probably going to be even more nervous than you.” Rise had adopted a bit more of a serious tone for her friend’s benefit, something that Naoto quietly appreciated. “If you’re able to be the usual you around him when you go out on…?”</p><p>“Friday.” Naoto caught on.</p><p>“Oh nice, you gave yourself plenty of time.” Rise complimented. “Anywho, just be yourself. If you treat it like it’s just the two of you hanging out like you did in high-school, then you’ll have a much better time. It sounds cliché and trust me, it <em>totally</em> is, but they’re called clichés for a reason.”</p><p><em>Huh, that was surprisingly insightful. </em>“Wow, that advice is very-”</p><p>“And then once you two are super comfy, you’re gonna have a great time, and then Moronji is totally gonna be like ‘Hey babe, let’s get back to my place,’ and then you’re gonna get there and start making out, and-”</p><p>“This is getting very tiring, Rise-san.” Naoto had almost ended the call. Her patience, despite her thinking it to be one of her better attributes, was diminishing very quickly.</p><p>“Aw, have an imagination! After Senpai and I went out on our first date, we did it!” Rise told Naoto this rather shamelessly.</p><p>“Wh-What?!” Naoto had actually yelled that out. Her mouth was covered right away by her free hand as several people looked over to her. She cleared her throat, lowering her voice. “W-Wait, I thought it wasn’t a normal thing to perform sexual acts on the first date?”</p><p>“Of course it isn’t normal! We didn’t actually do it on our first date, dummy! I just wanted to see how you’d react and boy you did <em>not</em> disappoint.” Rise looked over her nails, admiring them.</p><p>“Oh.” Naoto scratched at her neck. Of course she wasn’t being serious, why would she be? Nobody would do that. Certainly not Naoto either. She wouldn’t want to be brought back to Kanji’s place, having finished up a fantastic evening together, and then moving their way over to his couch where they cuddled for a while. Eventually, as some terrible action movie was playing in the background, Kanji would let his hand run astray as Naoto rubbed her own across his chest, and-</p><p>“You guys might be different though.” Rise added, breaking Naoto out of her nonsensical train of thought. “Not the sex thing, don’t do that unless you’re one-hundred percent on it. But as far as dating goes, you’ve got this long and weird past with each other already. Sure, there was that dry spell there for a few years, but you don’t really have to go through that weird step of getting to know each other. I really, really think that you’ll do fine!”</p><p>“Well, thanks for your vote of confidence, Rise-san.” Naoto, who had just finished the process of bedamning herself for her preceding daydreams, was preparing herself for having to tell Rise to stop saying whatever she was going to tell her next. <em>There seems to be a pattern here.</em></p><p>“Did you have any ideas in mind where you wanted to take him?” Rise asked rather fairly, shocking Naoto.</p><p>“Um, well the most logical line seems to be to go to a movie together and possibly have dinner afterwards. I haven’t thought too much else on what other options would be available.”</p><p>“Can’t beat the classics, might as well go for broke on that.” Rise rested her head on the back of her seat. She felt herself beginning to get cramped. “Oh, go somewhere you can get booze!”</p><p>Naoto heightened her brows. “Kanji enjoys drinking?”</p><p>Rise noticed the missing honorific she usually puts on his name, but decided to let her slide on by this time. It’d be perfect ammo for later anyways. “It takes him time to get into it. He can handle his own better than most, but he doesn’t like the way he acts when he drinks too much, so he’s very defensive about it.”</p><p>“That is perfectly understandable. I can’t say I blame him.”</p><p>“You’re only saying that because of the <em>one</em> time I managed to get you drunk. Drunk Naoto was fun!”</p><p>“And you probably will never see ‘Drunk Naoto’ again for as long as we both live, Rise-san.” Naoto said without hesitation. She shuddered at the memories of that evening. Succumbing to peer pressure was not something she did, but she let her guard down that night and had let Rise convince her to get drunk under the guise of ‘oh just one more.’ Before blacking out and waking up in the morning half-naked and with a splitting headache, she did remember loosening up quite a bit though. And from the videos that she saw that Rise took, it seemed her suspicions were true.</p><p>“That was a fun night though! I remember you were <em>just </em>tipsy and started spilling your heart out to me.”</p><p>“Hold on a minute, I did <em>what?</em>” Naoto stood up from her seat and grabbed her lunch, which she had shortly forgotten about at the start of all this, to walk around, feet hitting a concrete path.</p><p>“Oh please, you don’t remember going on and on about your emotions, us sitting at the bar...” Rise trailed off, seeking assurance from the detective that never came. “Oh god, you really <em>don’t</em> remember that part, huh?”</p><p>“I don’t remember much from our evening together, Rise-san.” Naoto admitted. “You had somehow convinced me into taking on much more than I could handle. You told me and showed me all the things I did while I was...heavily intoxicated. You never said a word to me about ‘spilling my heart out to you.’”</p><p>Rise shifted in her seat nervously. “W-Well, I don’t know! I just thought that you would remember that part and not want me to say anything about it!”</p><p>“When has that <em>ever</em> stopped you before?”</p><p>“I-!” Rise stopped herself. “You know, you make a good point. You’re pretty great at this interrogating thing, maybe you should become a detective or something, I don’t know.”</p><p>“Rise-san, please. What did I tell you?”</p><p>“It wasn’t like it was anything I didn’t already know! The biggest difference was how gushy you were about it. You were acting like me, it was gross.”</p><p>“Acting like you?” How so?” Naoto was afraid to ask, but knew she had to bite the bullet.</p><p>“Well, where do I start?” Rise looked over to see the door of the car opening. The driver was checking in to make sure she was alright, to which Rise responded with a thumbs up. After the confirmation, the driver ducked back outside. “You started off with being all sappy about how you don’t get to see anybody anymore. ‘I miss everyone <em>sooooo</em> much. I wish I could see everyone together again just for a day.’ That was you for like, twenty minutes, and you were only two Pisco Sours in.”</p><p><em>Oh boy. </em>Naoto, who had now stepped back into the shopping district, didn’t like where this was leading. “Wh-What else did I say?”</p><p>“Don’t worry, it only gets worse. By the time you had your third drink in,” Naoto cringed at Rise’s statement, “You were, um, very <em>handsy</em> with me.”</p><p>Naoto stopped walking, her face now burning. “Oh my god...”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s what I said too.” Rise pursed her lips. “But it gets a tiny bit worse before it gets better.”</p><p>“<em>Ohmygod.”</em> Naoto ducked down an alley to hide herself from any street viewers.</p><p>“This is why I didn’t want to tell you any of this! I didn’t think that you wouldn’t be able to handle your liquor!” Rise defended herself.</p><p>“Just please put me out of my misery.” Naoto begged. “Finish it, please.”</p><p>“Well, you had gotten kinda loud at that point, and a few people stared at us.”</p><p>“Even while I, um-”</p><p>“<em>Especially</em> while you groped me.” Rise suddenly was praising her past self for having the foresight to wear a wig to disguise herself. “You kept on saying stuff about how you ‘wished you had a set like these’ and-”</p><p>“Okay, n-no more! Please!” Naoto just wanted to die. <em>How could I ever say things like that?</em></p><p>“Well, hold on! There’s one more thing! Like I said, it did get better! You know, kinda, and before you took and downed your fourth drink.” Rise said, trying to soften the blow.</p><p>“What could I have possibly said that would salvage me at that point?” Naoto asked, already defeated.</p><p>“Well, it didn’t save you from being Drunk Naoto. It was, like, a silver lining. After you sat back down from the business you were doing, you ordered another drink and...well, you started to cry a little bit.”</p><p>Naoto sighed. “How is this better, Rise-san?”</p><p>“Just let me finish!” Rise shouted. “Anyways, you just started crying then and there. When I asked you what was wrong, you just said ‘If I had a body like that, maybe Kanji-kun would forgive me for being stupid.’”</p><p>“O-Oh...I’m still waiting on the part where I’m supposed to feel better.”</p><p>Rise continued, ignoring her. “I asked why you would ever think that when he had confessed to you back when we all graduated. You said ‘I feel so guilty about that. I would say yes every single time he asked me now. I miss him so much, I love him.’”</p><p>Naoto swallowed. “I said I loved him?”</p><p>“Yep. Then I asked you why you don’t just call him or visit. You asked me how you were supposed to mend things back together again after all these years. When I told you that you just had to take a shot at it and hope for the best, you just stuck your tongue out at me.” Rise finished with a giggle. “But then you started saying things like ‘Maybe I’ll go back when I grow up some more,’ and ‘I just wish I could see him one last time and tell him how sorry I am.’ From there, you took another drink and became full-on Drunk Naoto, and I started recording.” Rise shrugged. “And now you know everything I know about that night.”</p><p>Naoto grabbed at her shirt, trying to hold back her emotions and sound strong for her friend over the phone. She thought over the events of the night again in her head, and upon reviewing them again, yes, she did remember all of those things she said. She even remembered the exact moment where she went from tipsy to drunk. Whining about missing her friends, harassing Rise and being jealous of her, and crying about Kanji. As everything settled in her mind, she found herself breathing in and out very swiftly.</p><p>“Naoto?” Rise worryingly asked. “Naoto, are you alright?”</p><p>“Yes.” Naoto said between breaths. “I’m just attempting to put everything together.” She closed her eyes, endeavoring to slow her greedy lungs down just a sliver. “It is unclear to me as to what set this shortness of breath off, Rise-san.” Again, her breathing was slowing down, this time to an acceptable and normal level.</p><p>Rise straightened up her posture. “Please don’t think of what you told me that night as a bad thing. This just tells me that you always had plans to come back and visit Moronji again, you just needed the time to work things out, you know?”</p><p>“I suppose there’s truth in that.” Naoto’s breaths had finally found themselves at an acceptable and normal level. “I was just biding my time, waiting for the moment that I felt I could approach him again.”</p><p>“Um, Naoto?” Rise began, getting a grunt of affirmation from her friend. “You don’t have to answer this if its too much for you, but...” Her voice seemed to dwindle, a phenomenon of sorts for Rise. “Why didn’t you go back to him sooner? You sound like you’ve been holding this in since-”</p><p>“High school. Yes, I am aware of what I had felt at the time. I was younger and dumber when it came to the topic of human emotion, even after all the time that I had spent together with everyone.” Naoto, her voice now cleared of any shakiness, leaned her head back up against the building behind her, taking in the blue sky above. “It all still felt foreign. These feelings for Kanji-kun had only begun conjuring themselves during our last few months together of our third year. I felt...resentment, that I was going to be unable to see him as often. Sadness was inevitably there alongside it, somehow sure of the thought that he had already moved on past me at that point.” She paused again, letting the thoughts of their graduation day replay anew. “So when he finally professed his affection towards me, I was, for lack of a better word, scared. For as cheap and hollow as it sounds, I was scared and I panicked when his emotions were laid bare for me to fully realize. In those moments as I raced away from him, Kanji-kun had left his feelings unprotected, and I’m sure that whatever passion he had felt regarding me shattered, replacing itself with rage and sorrow.” Naoto exhaled, unleashing a hefty breath of air through her mouth. “As simple as it sounds, that is all it was in the end. I was petrified in that moment, and up until today I still was.” She laughed sadly, placing her face in her free hand. “It’s pathetic, isn’t it? An adult, still so scared of the people that share this world with her?”</p><p>“Of course it isn’t! News flash, Naoto, <em>all</em> adults are scared! None of us know what we’re doing! Hell, even our parents or our grandparents didn’t know what they were doing!” Rise had had quite enough of listening to her ally rag on herself. “You aren’t a bad person just because you were afraid of doing something! What it makes you is <em>human</em>, Naoto! Every time I go up on stage, I fight every feeling telling me that I’m going to screw up and that I need to just quit! Every time Kanji-kun puts out a new doll or pattern for sale, he’s fighting the feelings telling him that he did crap work and that what he didn’t isn’t going to sell! And I guarantee you every other member of the team has been through the same feelings!” Rise paused for a moment, soothing herself. “Look Naoto, I know that you don’t think it, but you are human. You’re capable of making mistakes as well as you’re capable of being better every single day. And you’re certainly capable of being scared. I don’t get it myself, but there are <em>tons</em> of people like you who are afraid of getting in the face of their feelings for another person.” Rise sighed as she chose her last words. “Just like Moronji.”</p><p>Naoto digested every single word that Rise had said, making sure that it set in. Was it really a normal feeling for her to be scared? “I will need time to assess all of this information you just relayed to me. It was certainly...eye-opening.” Naoto was about to end things there, but a nagging feeling wouldn’t let her. She knew what questions she wanted to ask. She just needed to move her mouth and make herself say it. “One last thing, Rise-san. If...if things don’t work out between myself and Kanji-kun, then-”</p><p>“Stop it.” Rise cut her off. “You’re worrying about the future, just like you worried about the past during those five years without him. Make present Naoto happy for once. You have plenty of time to hate yourself for what you did in the past. And your future is going to be decided by the risks that you take now. So I want you to say it to me.”</p><p>Naoto was confused. “Say what to you?”</p><p>“’I am the most important me.’ Go on, say it!”</p><p>Naoto, perhaps weary from the conversation, folded to her friend’s whims easily. “I am the most important me.” She repeated the phrase back to her friend, before taking in another long and drawn-out sigh. Naoto stood up, adjusting herself. “Hey Rise-san?”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“That sounded ridiculous.” Naoto chuckled with a tiny smile.</p><p>“But did it make you feel better?!” Rise asked, happy with herself.</p><p>“Yes,” Naoto picked up her food off the ground. “I suppose it did. And before I forget, thank you for speaking with me about this. I would have liked going to others for additional advice, but this seems that it will suffice.”</p><p>“You’re <em>welcome!</em> Just make sure that you mention me whenever you tell the story of how you two got together, ‘kay?”</p><p>Naoto, the smile now infectiously creeping its way up her face, shook her head. “You know I will do no such thing.”</p><p>“Aw, phooey. Make sure to tell me how it all goes then! Oh, and I want <em>all</em> the details! And I <em>mean </em>all of them!” Rise made her voice sound a bit deeper and sultry as she finished the sentence.</p><p>“Didn’t you advise me not to sleep with someone on the first date?”</p><p>“It was more of a suggestion, really.”</p><p>“I’m going to hang up now, Rise-san.” Naoto stated bluntly.</p><p>“Alrighty, byyyyyeeeee!” Rise didn’t seem to perturbed by the sudden conclusion.</p><p>“Goodbye.” Naoto pressed on her phone’s screen, the text on screen letting her know that the call had ceased. <em>That was taxing.</em></p><p>Naoto walked out of the alley, and her stomach started to growl. She looked down at her food. The thoughts of Kanji would have to wait, she decided, as her stomach was begging to be quelled. Still, as she walked down the street, past Kanji’s shop again, and onward to where she was staying, she couldn’t help but feel as if weight had been lifted off her shoulders.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that's chapter 2 in the books! I'm gonna level with you guys, I had been done with a majority of this one for like three days. I just took my time writing out the end of it and taking care of a few edits, although I'm sure I still missed something. Anyways, thanks again for reading. Chapter 3 is in the works, and I'm now starting to get a good idea of how long this is going to be. I'm thinking only about five chapters or so, but that's always subject to change if I feel like there's more info I can shove in there.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Stress</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A frown spread across Kanji’s face, not too amused by the work he had done. Ultimately deciding on a bright yellow dye for this particular pattern, he regretted his decision after looking over the results. <em>It just looks borin’ as hell.</em><span> He took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. The upcoming Summer season was closer than he’d like to admit and he didn’t feel prepared. There was always the possibility of just recreating what he had come up with for last Summer, but he knew that he’d get no sales from patrons and chastised for his lack of creativity, something that Kanji was particularly prideful on. Alas, patterns he was prototyping didn’t come out the way he had imagined and his choice of color combinations didn’t line up to bring out anything dazzling. With those two problems working hand-in-hand, it wouldn’t surprise him if his business tanked. </span></p><p>
  <span> Scratching at his chin as he continued to pour over his work, deciding what aspects he could simply improve on and what he would need to get rid of, he walked over and grabbed a small notepad o</span>
  <span>ff</span>
  <span> the table. A click of the pen and he was writing down pros and cons of this prototype in his very neat handwriting. </span>
  <span>One sigh and another click later, he dropped the notes back on the table and went to exit the room, closing the door behind him. It had been a long day and he was well past done with it. A few steps later and Kanji was back in his room. Not wanting to get anything from the dyeing process on any of his other possessions, the tailor stripped and went over his bathroom and started up his second shower of the day. He stood leaning up against the sink as he waited for the water to warm up to its normal scalding temperature. Thoughts of the past day went in and out as they pleased, reminding him of more and more things that he still needed to handle at some point. He looked up from his daze and saw steam coming from his bathtub, making its way to fill out the room. A few slow steps and some easing in later, his body was being pelted with a steady stream of </span>
  <span>boiling rain. </span>
</p><p><span> Goosebumps aside, the shower was certainly relaxing him. Which was good, because Kanji still had some annoying things to work out in his head. He needed more dye of all colors but he certainly didn’t want to make the trip to buy them from the usual store just outside of Tokyo. But he also wasn’t going to buy them from Junes. As much as he liked Yosuke, he didn’t need to feed the parasite anymore than what they were already getting. </span><em>I’ll just order ‘em online or somethin,’</em><span> he settled. </span><span>He needed to get more yarn and silk, maybe some wool for the weirdos who still wear that crap during the Summer. Not to mention there were several designs still in their conceptual stages that he needed to get back to the drawing board on. He resolved to begin working on those this evening after his shower was finished. And there were several people calling in and placing custom orders. Enough people, in fact, that he had to start turning away orders because he knew he just wouldn’t get them done in a reasonable time frame. Kanji still made sure to take down their name and phone number if a spot opened up for them. The warm water was still pelting at him as each thought was coming and getting in line. Despite him </span><span>being</span><span> in a location that he typically would find so soothing, he could feel himself tensing up as he addressed each individual idea in his head. </span><em>When had work become so backed up like this?</em> <span>He didn’t want to sound cocky, but he knew the work he did was exquisite. That said, was it really enough for his shop to start gaining this kind of traction? He’d admit in a heartbeat that he was taking the necessary steps for his shop to expand. He had been learning to become much more fluent in English over the past three years so he could speak to most foreign customers and visitors. Kanji also had begun to advertise more aggressively. He had people like Yosuke and Yukiko telling him that he should get into national </span><span>markets</span><span> by getting a website set-up, but he didn’t have the time nor the mental fortitude to get that going. If he couldn’t even get his orders done for his Japanese customers, then how the hell was he going to do it on such a large scale? And even with how busy he was, it wasn’t like he was turning over huge margins on anything he sold outside of the more complex and intricate designs. But he sold enough that those smaller margins had begun to add up and he was able to afford more and more. </span></p><p>
  <em>God, and that’s just my problems with the freakin’ shop. I still gotta worry `bout…</em>
  <span> Kanji’s mind trailed off. He hadn’t contacted Naoto since </span>
  <span>the</span>
  <span> visit yesterday and she vice versa. </span>
  <span>He began to wonder if it was all a mirage; a figment of his imagination. If it was, he was gonna be pissed that he missed out on a whole day’s worth of business because of some stupid illusion. He rubbed at his scalp, trying to comfort his poor brain that was beginning to have difficulties holding everything in. Kanji would be the first to confess that he was holding off on texting her because he was afraid. Of what, he wasn’t sure, but he felt fear nonetheless. </span>
  <em>Ain’t like she’s the one for cruel jokes. She asked me cause she </em>
  <em>
    <b>meant</b>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> it, dammit!</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji grabbed for his soap, squirting some into his hands, and then mixing it around onto his loofah. He wiped away at the day’s work as he thought more and more about Naoto. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, that’s right, she asked me. I didn’t ask her, she asked </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <b>me</b>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>. </span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span>Feeling satisfied, he hung his loofah back up, opting to stay in the shower for a few more minutes. </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Problem is where the hell am I s’posed to take her? Or did she have somethin’ in mind herself? </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Guess we should probably figure that out before I go suggestin’ anything. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> Kanji turned off the water, grabbed the towel that was hanging overhead on the shower rod, and stepped out of the bathtub. He felt overwhelmed by everything hitting him at once. Like he was in a cage match and it was him against five other fighters. </span>
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  <em>
    <span>Then it’s a fair fight</span>
  </em>
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    <span>, </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>huh?</span>
  </em>
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    <span> He joked to himself. The thought of a cage match—hell, any fight, actually—sounded very enticing to the tall, muscular man. The itch to throw himself back into that world of picking fights and coming out on top was something that reared its ugly head every now and then. And in this exact case, it would give him an outlet to vent his anger. But he knew that if dove back into that world, he would never hear the end of it from his friends because how the hell was he going to hide it whenever he got punched in the face and it left a bruise? Especially if this thing with Naoto worked out. Kanji would feel terrible getting dragged back into that lifestyle just as the ball got rolling with his crush.</span>
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</p><p><em>Maybe I’ll just become a fuckin’ hermit or somethin’, get away from all this crap.</em> Kanji hung the towel back up and left the bathroom. As he put a fresh set of clothes on, he heard his phone vibrate on his desk. After getting on a pair of comfortable sweatpants, he walked over and picked it up, noting the time first. <em>Already seven, eh? </em>He shook his head, perhaps preemptively as he looked further down the screen and saw a text from Naoto had popped up.</p><p><em>So she pulled the trigger first, eh? </em>Kanji unlocked his phone, inputting his very simple password of <em>1234</em>, and read over the words on the screen.</p><p><em>(19:01) </em><b>Naoto:</b> ARE YOU STILL GOOD 4 FRIDAY Y/N</p><p>Kanji chuckled at the all caps. Rise hadn’t lied when she told him a year back that Naoto was still trying to keep her old ways of being efficient up, even when the phone wouldn’t let her.</p><p><em>(19:01)</em> <b>Kanji:</b> Yeah I should be fine with it. Any plans on where we’re going?</p><p>Kanji was about to slide his phone back into his pocket when he got another text.</p><p><em>(19:02) </em><b>Naoto: </b>CAN YOU CALL ME?</p><p>Kanji cocked his head to the side. Unwavering, he pressed the little phone symbol in the top right of the screen. After exactly one ring, the dialing was cut off.</p><p>“Hello? Kanji-kun?”</p><p>Although Kanji wished that she would stop being so formal (<em>Shit, she already was sayin’ my name normal yesterday</em>), it was therapeutic for him to hear her voice on the other end of the line. “Hey Naoto, what’s up?”</p><p>Naoto was a slightly sad to hear the exhaustion in Kanji’s voice. “I was just reading a new novel when I felt it fit that I should confirm that we’re still on a favorable track for our, um,” Naoto cleared her throat. “Date this Friday.”</p><p>“Ya didn’t have to call.” Kanji said perhaps too bluntly. “I mean, glad ya did, it’s always nice talkin’ to ya n’ I missed hearin’ yer voice after- crap, I mean, uh...” Kanji stumbled on his words.</p><p>Naoto smiled wide, glad that she was out of sight of anybody. “It’s quite fine, Kanji-kun.” She wouldn’t tell him now, but that was also part of the reason she wanted a phone call instead of just texting. “So to answer your question earlier, I felt that we should go with somewhat of a staple in the dating world. I propose we start off with a movie and then some dinner, if there are no objections.”</p><p><em>Cool and composed. What’d I give for an ounce of that. </em>“Um, yeah, sounds great! Any spot you were thinkin’ for dinner?”</p><p>“I was actually hoping that we could keep it casual and go to a bar, but I’m afraid I do not know of any of Inaba’s local watering holes. Perhaps you can think of one? And I will pick the movie that we watch so we can keep our contributions equal?”</p><p>“Ya drink, Naoto?” Kanji raised his eyebrows. “That’s...somethin’.”</p><p>“I have partook of alcohol a few times in the past. Not frequently, but I have mostly enjoyed the times where I have.” Aside from the one time of getting drunk with Rise, Naoto still did enjoy drinking. She had been invited out to bars with colleagues in different precincts in celebration for successfully wrapping up different cases. It relaxed her, but as she found out with Rise, sometimes it had the uncanny ability to relax her a little too much.</p><p>“Ya learn somethin’ new...” Kanji trailed off. “Anyways, yeah, I know a couple of places. I’ll keep thinkin’ on it n’ just let ya know which one we’re gonna go to on Friday. That okay?”</p><p>“Perfectly fine, Kanji-kun.” Naoto bit her lip, looking down at her book before inquiring further. “Are you doing alright, Kanji-kun? You sound tired.”</p><p>“Do I?” Kanji said with a small and halfhearted chuckle. “Just work keepin’ me busy. Got a lot of crap to get workin’ on.”</p><p>“Didn’t you tell me that you were trying to lessen the amount of work you do for your own health?”</p><p><em>Apparently I’m tired enough to let that one slip out. Nice freakin’ job, Tatsumi. </em>“Sorry `bout that, it’s just what I tell my friends whenever they ask about my work. Things are pickin’ up pretty freakin’ quick n’ I dunno why. I’m turnin’ away people cause I ain’t got the time to do all the custom orders I’m gettin’. The shop’s outgrowin’ me, n’ I got all this crap I gotta keep up on. It wasn’t a lie when I told ya I try not to overwork myself, but the past couple of weeks have been hell for me, if I’m bein’ honest.” Kanji tried to put a cheery sound back in his voice before continuing. “But it ain’t all bad! I ain’t ever bored, n’ the shop’s doin’ great cause of it!”</p><p>Naoto could easily tell how fake he sounded. “Kanji-kun, please don’t put yourself through this. You need help.”</p><p><em>I need...help? </em>The thought had honestly never crossed his mind. “Like...like I need to hire someone?”</p><p>“Yes, Kanji-kun. You’ve said it yourself, the shop is outgrowing you. If you keep trying to continue on your current path, it’ll all just cave in. The last thing I want to see you do is fail.” Naoto had set her book on the small table beside her and stood up.</p><p>“Naoto, I don’t think-”</p><p>“Please be quiet for a second and listen. I know that you believe that only you can deliver the quality of work that you want, but it isn’t responsible for you to take everything on yourself. You need additional tailors, ones that at least come close to your level of work. You should also get a receptionist as well as an accountant to help manage your finances. With all of them there, you would also need to think about expanding your shop to have more-”</p><p>“Woah woah woah!” Kanji pleaded. “Just hold up for a sec! I ain’t got that kinda money to hire that much help. At most I could squeeze in maybe two extra sets of hands.”</p><p>“I apologize, I do suppose I got carried away.” Naoto said sheepishly before regaining her composure. “But I still stand by this: you need at least one more tailor, and you need an accountant. Handling phone calls and taking orders isn’t too much of a hassle, so a receptionist isn’t necessary at this time. Once you are comfortable where you are, consider expanding your business and hiring on additional help as needed.”</p><p>“Huh.” Kanji stated rather lamely. He was in a state of disbelief. Forgetting the fact that he never once thought that his little shop would need this much thought put into it—he was advertising everywhere, but he didn’t think he’d become so swamped—he was more amazed that Naoto had put together part of a solution for him in less than five minutes. “Y’know I’m gonna be super freakin’ picky about the tailor I hire, right?”</p><p>“As you should be. Nobody wants shoddy work on something as essential as clothing.” Naoto affirmed, simply glad that he was going to seek out potential employees.</p><p>“Thank god ya understand me.” Kanji chuckled. “Anyways, sorry `bout that. Our date talk got a little derailed by my work.”</p><p>“It’s okay, Kanji.” Naoto reassured while Kanji was glad that she finally dropped the ‘kun.’ “I was worried for your health, and I’m happy that you opened up to me about what was truly wrong. I was expecting a bit more of a struggle knowing how prideful you can be, so it was a nice surprise when you accepted the idea so quickly.”</p><p>“Well I gotta admit, it’s gonna take time gettin’ used to other hands besides a Tatsumi’s on the shop’s handiwork, but I ain’t `bout to doubt yer logic. Plus if they start doin’ crappy work I’ll just send ‘em packin’.” Kanji finished with the first genuine smile he had put on today. “Thanks for askin’ though, Naoto.” Kanji said while tangling with a yawn. “Crap, sorry, kinda tired now.”</p><p>Naoto stifled what Kanji could only describe as a giggle. “Well, yes, you would be tired after working so much, it’s only natural. I will go on and let you rest for the night. Should we plan to meet on Friday at the theater around four o’clock?”</p><p>“Sounds good to me. I’ll text ya whenever I’m on my way, yeah?”</p><p>“Perfect, Kanji. I will see you on Friday, hm?”</p><p>“Alright. G’Night Naoto. L-” Kanji had to bite his tongue to stop himself, letting out a pained groan. “S-sorry, bit myself. Anyways, g’night.”</p><p>Naoto, for all intents and purposes, seemed amused and didn’t notice Kanji’s almost fatal blunder. “Goodnight. Sleep well.”</p><p>And with that, the call ended, and Kanji braced himself on his desk. “The <em>fuck</em> was that, Tatsumi? Ya don’t go tryin’ to say that shit when ya ain’t even had a date with the chick yet!” He shook his head and slapped his face with both hands. “Alright, focus!” He sat down on the edge of his bed, determination in his eyes. “I’m gonna need an expert.”</p><p>Scrolling down his contacts until he hit the very bottom, he finally found who he was looking for. He pressed down on the contact that read ‘<em>Yu Narukami</em>’ and brought up a conversation with him.</p><p><em>(19:22)</em> <b>Kanji:</b> Yo Senpai, can you talk?</p><p>Within seconds, Kanji had received his answer.</p><p><em>(19:22) </em><b>Yu: </b>Of course I can. What’s up?</p><p>Kanji pursed his lips and groaned. He was unsure how to go about describing his situation.</p><p><em>(19:23) </em><b>Kanji: </b>It’s complicated. Stuff I haven’t ever had to deal with.</p><p>Although he was being honest, Kanji did feel a bit humiliated that he would have to resort to asking his friends for help with girls.</p><p><em>(19:24) </em><b>Yu: </b>Is this about your date with Naoto? Rise had told me about that. What do you need to know?</p><p>Kanji read the text over and over again. <em>What? </em>He still couldn’t believe it when he read it a sixth and seventh time. <em>WHAT?</em> Tons of thoughts ran through his head. He wondered how the hell Rise had found out already. If she knew, did the rest of the Investigation Team know? Did Naoto tell her? Did Naoto tell <em>all</em> of them? <em>No, she wouldn’t do that. Maybe she was doin’ what I’m doin’ but with Rise. But why the hell would she go to little Miss Idol for advice? </em>Kanji decided that none of this thinking was getting him anywhere, and just kept the conversation with his Senpai rolling.</p><p><em>(19:26)</em> <b>Kanji: </b>Yeah, figures she’d know about it already. Look, I’m going to be honest, I need to talk face-to-face. Can I take the train up there tomorrow and visit ya?</p><p>Kanji scrunched his face, not all too sure if what he was doing was correct. It was kind of out of nowhere, asking to visit a friend in a completely different city so late the day before. Still, he did receive an answer from Yu just moments later.</p><p><em>(19:27)</em> <b>Yu:</b> Nonsense, I’ll come down to you so you don’t have to close your shop for the entire day. There’s one scheduled to leave at noon, so I can plan to be in Inaba around one.</p><p>Kanji’s fingers flew in a flurry to respond.</p><p><em>(19: 27)</em> <b>Kanji:</b> But Senpai, isn’t it going to be bad for your job?</p><p><em>(19:27) </em><b>Yu: </b>In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the breadwinner in my relationship, so I can afford to take the day. Now, is me arriving at one going to be fine with you?</p><p>Kanji felt guilty, but he also really did need that extra time to get some work done, so he gave in.</p><p><em>(19:28)</em> <b>Kanji: </b>Yeah, that’s good. I’ll head over on the bus to meet you at the station so you aren’t coming and going alone.</p><p><em>(19:28) </em><b>Yu: </b>Alright, that’s great. Get some rest, Kanji. I’ll see you tomorrow.</p><p><em>(19:28) </em><b>Kanji: </b>See you tomorrow Senpai. Goodnight.</p><p>With that, Kanji, who was still feelings guilty about having his Senpai come out all this way, pocketed his phone and went to grab his design notepad. He hoped to get some of them done while watching television.</p>
<hr/><p>The tailor waited somewhat impatiently at the platform for his friend’s train to arrive. Kanji knew that looking at the clock wasn’t magically going to make the time go by quicker, but dammit he dealt with literal punching TV ghosts at one point so he was going to believe that the chance was there. His day was already off to a somewhat rough start. He had two canceled custom orders which he still needed to get replaced with any of the others that still might be on standby. There had, on top of that, only been three customers come in to look around that entire half-day he was open. And one of them was a kid who wanted a doll, so of course he wasn’t going to make her pay! And as if that weren’t enough, he fell asleep watching TV last night and didn’t get jack done on his new designs.</p><p><em>I’d be less bothered by it if it I didn’t feel like complete ass mornin’. </em>Kanji thought to himself haggardly. Then he took another antsy glance at the clock, and just as he was, he heard the screeching of brakes as Yu’s train pulled in. When the doors opened, it didn’t take long for Kanji to spot his former team leader.</p><p>“Yo, Senpai!” Kanji greeted Yu as the silver-haired man walked up to him.</p><p>“Hey there, Kanji. And I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” Yu said back to him with his charismatic smile.</p><p>“It ain’t like it’s a flip of a switch, Se- fuck,” Kanji grumbled. “Yu...nope, no way, way too freakin’ weird.”</p><p>Yu chuckled. “You’ll get used to it with time. Before we continue, let’s get to the bus first, hm?” Yu pointed towards the exit of the platform.</p><p>“Yer right, we should get goin’. Didn’t bring anything with ya, right?” Kanji asked while turning his back.</p><p>“Not at all. Should I have?” Yu questioned suggestively.</p><p>Kanji whirled back around immediately. “Wha- no, course not-”</p><p>“At least treat me to dinner first, Kanji.”</p><p>“C’mon, we ain’t in high-school! Knock that crap off!” Kanji defended himself before slumping his shoulders and once again facing the exit. “Y’know, at this point, I’m talkin’ to a brick wall. So yeah, go on n’ do your thing.” He walked away with his upperclassman trailing him.</p><p>“Now that’s no fun.” Yu spoke in his usual deadpan tone. “At least fight back a <em>little</em> bit.”</p>
<hr/><p>The bus ride home was largely uneventful. Kanji was prepared to answer any questions that Yu might be wanting to ask, but it seemed that his old Senpai was respectful of his friend’s privacy. Either that or he was chomping at the bit to unravel Kanji’s mind but couldn’t do it properly in a public setting. In any case, Kanji was secretly dreading that the conversation was going to happen at all. It looked to be such a great idea at the time he suggested it.</p><p>Setting foot off the bus and now towards Tatsumi Textiles, Kanji noticed Yu looking around at the shopping district. “Somethin’ on yer mind, Y-Yu?” He was able to stammer out the name.</p><p>“Nothing in particular.” Yu replied. “I miss the little things about this place. Sure, we spent our time chasing after a psychopathic serial killer in a mystical TV world, but I’d like to think we still all had fun.”</p><p>“Yer an adrenaline junky, ain’t ya?”</p><p>“I did feel the most alive when we were deep into battle with Shadows. The possibility of death being an option did have its affects on me.” Yu admitted nonchalantly.</p><p>Kanji reached for a set of keys to unlock the front door. “Ya coulda just said ya enjoy ridin’ roller coasters or some shit.” He grumbled to himself, eventually getting the door open. “C’mon in. Y’know the way to my room, just mind all the yarn n’ shit. Didn’t have many customers today so I was workin’ on other crap.”</p><p>“Ah, I see. At least you’re keeping busy.” Yu entered the building, taking off his shoes before stepping on any mats.</p><p>“That’s an understatement.” Kanji sighed, following Yu in and closing the door behind him. “Been workin’ my ass off for awhile now. Just thought it was gonna be that surge of people that are preppin’ for the Summer, but it ain’t stopped.” Kanji then turned to Yu who was already on his way to Kanji’s room. “Just wait there a sec and I’ll bring ya some tea. N’ just a heads up, gonna be doin’ some work while we’re talkin’ back there, alright?”</p><p>Yu crossed his arms. “Even now you still have to work? Are you that far behind?”</p><p>Kanji shifted his stance, turning to go to the kitchen. “It ain’t so much that, just a lotta shit piled up outta nowhere.”</p><p>“Have you considered hiring on-”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, I gotta hire people, I know! Yeesh, gonna be hearin’ that from <em>everyone</em> I tell this crap to.” Kanji then exited the conversation and found his way to the kitchen. He quickly got some water boiling on the stove-top. Leaning against the counter, his mind drifted for awhile. While he knew what he wanted to ask Yu, he wasn’t all too sure how to say it. It bugged him that words evaded him so easily. Speaking was never one of his strong suits, but he had made an effort to try and reinforce that weak foundation of his and has already noticed decent results. He just hoped that when it came time to speak to Naoto on their date, he would be able to pull off the same feats he had been achieving. Before his thoughts let him linger, the screaming of the pot of now boiling water brought him to his sense. He swiftly grabbed two cups and prepared some tea for the two of them. With that, he lifted the plates that they were on, and went back to his room.</p><p>In there, he saw Yu looking at some dolls that Kanji had been working on at one point or another for a personal project, but had to stop because he couldn’t find the time. Kanji had evidently stepped a little too loudly as Yu turned his head and shot Kanji a smile.</p><p>“These dolls are amazing, Kanji.” He was holding one that looked curiously like a polar bear, but was missing it’s lower half.</p><p>“I mean, they ain’t finished, but thanks Yu.” <em>Still fuckin’ weird. </em>He set the two cups of tea down on the table and sat down in front of his own.</p><p>“May I ask what they’re for?” Yu had walked over and taken a seat in front of his own cup of tea.</p><p>“Eh, just personal crap, really. They’d be done a lot earlier if I could manage it.” Kanji shrugged.</p><p>“You really need to hire on more people.” Yu shook his head disapprovingly. “Less work and less stress on you.”</p><p>“You guys are really gonna keep tellin’ me that til I do it, huh?” Kanji smiled. “Ya know it ain’t an overnight thing. N’ if I’m hirin’ on more people then they’re gonna have to meet my level of quality too!”</p><p>“I think you just set an impossible bar.”</p><p>“Hey, I take pride in my work. I can be picky.” Kanji planted his palms behind him and leaned back.</p><p>“Mhm. Sure.” Yu closed his eyes and nodded. “That aside, I believe you called me down here for a reason? One having to do with a date with a detective prince of some sorts?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Kanji said back slowly with a drawn out sigh. “I dunno how I’m s’posed to go `bout approachin’ any of this, Yu. ‘S all new to me.”</p><p>“Yeah, you were never popular with women.” Yu nodded once more with a hand on his chin.</p><p>“Ouch.” Kanji said slightly annoyed.</p><p>“I thought you would prefer me sticking to the truth. If you want me to butter you up I can-”</p><p>“No, no, just...” Kanji took off his glasses and breathed in slowly. “Continue.”</p><p>“I’m not too sure where to begin, Kanji.” Yu took a sip of his tea, letting out a breath of satisfaction. “Perfect as always, by the way.”</p><p>“Ain’t lookin’ for praise, I’m lookin’ for answers.” Kanji cocked and eyebrow and leaned forward, placing his left elbow on the table to support him.</p><p>“Right, sorry. I’m still trying tactics I used on Yosuke all those years ago.” Yu admitted with a laugh.</p><p>“Oh, so it was <em>you</em> who got the two idiots together, huh?” Kanji accused.</p><p>“Guilty as charged. Do you really think he would’ve gone for Chie otherwise?” Yu put on a coy smile. “Dancing around each other is fun, but it’s pointless if someone doesn’t take the lead.”</p><p>“Well I’m glad she did then, cause I sure as shit wasn’t gonna. Least I don’t think I was.”</p><p>“Oh, <em>Naoto </em>asked <em>you</em> out? Huh, can’t say I saw that one coming.” Yu looked towards the floor underneath Kanji’s bed, seeing even more sewing supplies strung about.</p><p>“Figured ya would’ve heard that one from Rise. Guess Naoto didn’t tell her every detail.” Kanji felt a little relieved.</p><p>“It probably had more to do with the fact that when she got home she kept gushing about how cute you two were, how cute your children would be, how you would take Naoto in your ‘big beefy arms’ and-”</p><p>Kanji stuck his arms out and waved them frantically, surprising Yu. “H-Hold on a sec, stop!” The tailor felt a bright shade of crimson around the back of his neck. He had always hated Rise’s overactive imagination, especially when it came to the likes of him and Naoto. She always teased him about it back in high school—and according to Naoto, did the same to her—and no amount of yelling at her would ever make her stop it.</p><p>Kanji regained his composure. “I ain’t even thought that far ahead yet.” <em>Ya fuckin’ liar. Course ya have. Ya’ve done it at least three times </em><em><b>today.</b></em></p><p>“Well, she certainly has. And I guess I can relay some information that she let me in on.” Yu adjusted himself, sitting himself up with his back straight. “Naoto is just as nervous as you are, Kanji. She’s afraid that she’s going to screw this date up and that you guys will go back to not talking again. More than anything, from what I could glance of the info Rise gave, she wants her friend to be there again. The only difference this time is that she’s willing to accept her feelings.”</p><p>Kanji sat there staring at something. He wasn’t all too sure what he was staring at, but he kept staring so he could focus harder on Yu’s words. They were such weird words to hear: Naoto was just as nervous as him. Back in school, one of them usually was the calm one for the other whenever they freaked out. But this isn’t high school anymore, and this isn’t just them as friends; this was the duo as a potential romantic pair and they were both scared to hell and back.</p><p>“With that being said,” Yu’s words snapped Kanji’s eyes back to his friend. “I have a question for <em>you</em>, if you don’t mind.”</p><p>“Uh, yeah, shoot.” Although confused, Kanji was sure that Yu had a meaning behind it.</p><p>“What will you do if things don’t work out?”</p><p>Of all the questions, Kanji hadn’t expected that one to leave Yu’s lips. Put on the spot, he didn’t know how to answer it. He didn’t even think that was a possibility. Upon realizing it, Kanji put on a small but confident smile.</p><p>“They’ll work out.” Kanji said plainly.</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“Things’ll work out. If I didn’t have the confidence to say that, then I’d be wastin’ my time. And if there’s one thing I ain’t plannin’ on doin’ with this girl, it’s wastin’ each other’s time.” Kanji reached for his tea, slowly putting it up to his lips.</p><p>“That’s not a very Kanji-like answer.” Yu wore a wide smile on his face.</p><p>“Well, ‘s the right one, ain’t it? Ya’ve told me before that I’ve already lost the fight if I’m goin’ in expectin’ to lose.” Kanji shrugged and looked over to his notepad lying on his desk, taunting him that he hadn’t drawn in it in almost three days.</p><p>Yu’s grunt snapped Kanji’s attention back to his friend. “Well, if that’s the case Kanji, I don’t really think there’s anything else that I need to help you with.”</p><p>Kanji planted both his hands on the table and leaned forward. “But just cause I got that part figured don’t mean I ain’t need yer help! Whatta `bout things to say? When to just shaddup and listen? Is it my job to go in for a kiss? Are we s’posed to even kiss on a first date?” As Kanji rambled off his list of questions, Yu only stared on with an inquisitive look resting firmly on his face. The tailor always had confused him a little, ever since he had joined the Investigation Team back all those years ago. As seen here, Yu noticed that he may be one to solve a huge problem blocking his path, but then turn right back around and spend time meticulously picking up each individual pebble of an issue just to make sure the path was always clear. Kanji always saw molehills laid out before him, but he was a mountain craftsman at heart.</p><p>“Okay, time-out.” Yu stood up while his friend finally ceased his speaking. “Kanji, as much as I hate to tell you this, there isn’t a fool-proof plan for a date. There isn’t a guideline to follow and there isn’t a coach there to tell you when to make a move. Not everyone does the same thing for their dates, it just varies from person to person. Some people call ‘date night’ just sitting at home, watching movies and drinking wine together. Others go out to clubs and party until they can’t stand anymore.” Yu leaned down and grabbed his tea, sipping some more on it. “The only wrong way you can approach this is if you’re lacking confidence. Nothing else matters. Bottom line: just take things at a pace that you and Naoto are comfortable with. Other than that, I have no other advice I can give you, my friend.”</p><p>Kanji sat in thought for a moment, mulling over his friend’s words. He should’ve known that there wasn’t a method to it, but he hoped deep down that maybe his Senpai would have a secret to toss his way. Accepting that that wasn’t the case, he leaned back on both his arms and looked up at the ceiling. “Y’know, I was afraid the answer was gonna be somethin’ that simple.”</p><p>Yu chuckled. “A lot of life’s most complicated questions tend to be that way.”</p><p>“’S just so...surreal? Think that’s the word, I dunno.” Kanji rubbed his eyes with his right hand, still supporting himself with his left. “Didn’t think I’d be gettin’ a chance with my dream girl after all the crap that happened way back when.”</p><p>“Live and learn, forgive and forget.” Yu said with a solemn expression. “You’re both different people than you were back in school together. Both of you have grown up and experienced life a little bit more. Whether it seems like it or not, you have both matured a great amount.”</p><p>“Naoto’s always been the mature one. I’m just playin’ catch-up.”</p><p>“Not true. Back when her and I spent time together in school, she was anything but. Sure, she was much more grounded than your average teenager, but she was almost desperate to make herself that way, circling back around to moments of emotional immaturity. I could tell she had some more growing up to do.”</p><p>“Still,” Kanji leaned forward and stood up to be on even ground as Yu. “Ya helped her through a lotta crap from what I hear. Hell, ya helped out all of us.” Kanji paused for a few seconds before choosing to continue. “Hey Senpai, can I ask ya somethin’ that’s always been buggin’ me?”</p><p>Yu’s eyebrows raised. “Go ahead.”</p><p>Kanji rubbed at his neck and broke eye contact. “It ain’t no secret that you was popular with the chicks back then. All the girls had a thing for ya, even...even Naoto.” He almost choked on her name. “So why’d ya not do nothin’ til ya were already gone, n’ hell, even graduated? Rise was always gonna say yes, so why’d ya wait?”</p><p>Yu stared longingly off into the distance, and Kanji swore he saw a tear swell in his eyes. “Well, my first love was and will always be the sea, Kanji. Her bountiful waves has brought me many a good haul, allowing me to-”</p><p>“Alright ya corny bastard, I get it, ya got a freaky fishin’ fetish. Now tell me for real.” Kanji furrowed his brows.</p><p>Yu looked back at Kanji. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself. But as for what you asked, the simple answer is that I didn’t have the time. I made it a priority to be able to see everyone that I made connections with during my time leading the Investigation Team. Thus, I knew I wasn’t going to keep a relationship with anybody and give them a respectful amount of my time. And my time as a third year was dominated by studying for entrance exams. So I had to wait until I was already in university before I could make a move.” Yu paused, thinking for a moment. “But I’m sure you’re wondering more specifically why I didn’t go for Naoto, huh?”</p><p>Kanji looked away shyly to the floor. “Busted, huh?”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Kanji, I figured that would be the case.” Yu said with a comforting smile. “Truth be told, she’s not my type. She’s strong and independent, both spectacular traits of hers. But Kanji, you know that I’m more of a damsel in distress kind of guy. And that’s...”</p><p>“...somethin’ that Rise sells to ya perfectly. Even if she ain’t really like that. Got it.” Kanji finished for Yu. “Didn’t know it was gonna be somethin’ that plain, Yu.”</p><p>“What can I say, I’m a simple man. I enjoy fishing, beautiful women, drinking and dancing, and I work a nine to five.” Yu said unabashedly. “Right now, I’m living a good life.”</p><p>“We solved a freakin’ serial killer case back in high school where we had to hop into TVs to get magic powers and ya want to call yerself <em>simple</em>?!”</p><p>“I never said my life was simple. What I enjoy is simple.” Yu began walking towards the door. “Still, a part of me does miss the rush of it all. Maybe I’ll quit my job and join the police like Chie did. Another thought for another day.” When he was standing in the doorway, he turned back towards Kanji. “Well come on, let’s go.”</p><p>Kanji hurriedly grabbed his teacup off the table. “Where the hell we goin’?”</p><p>“Well,” Yu began, looking down at his watch. “It’s just a little past two o’clock now. I’ve got about four hours before I have to be on a bus back to the station, so we’re going to go kill some time. Let’s walk around Inaba for awhile. It’s been awhile since I’ve had the opportunity to do so.” With that, Yu exited and turned to walk down the hall.</p><p>Kanji followed in kind after his friend. “Alright, I’ll treat ya to some food. I better not be seein’ that wallet come out when we get to a freakin’ restaurant, ya hear me?”</p>
<hr/><p>The two stood waiting for a bus at the nearest stop they could find. It was a mostly uneventful afternoon. They had walked around Inaba, visiting all the local spots they used to frequent back in school. They had ran into Teddie on the street and got caught up talking to him for awhile. Unfortunately the boy couldn’t tag along as he had to go and get ready for his evening shift at Junes. Kanji had asked Yu at one point if he wanted to go and visit the Dojima residence, but Yu politely declined, saying that he wouldn’t want to intrude on them without proper warning. The last thing they did was walk up to Aiya’s. Rise’s grandmother, who was at the Chinese restaurant enjoying her own meal when the two walked in, was so happy to see Yu and they spent a better part of their time just chatting with her. Once they ordered and received their food, they sat down to quickly devour it as Yu noted the time. Finished and full, they found themselves where they stood now, where Yu had made the decision that he would just go back to the station by himself.</p><p>“Y’know, I’m glad ya got to come down, but I was expectin’ my crap to take up more time. Sorry if I wasted a day for ya.” Kanji apologized.</p><p>Yu, of course, wasn’t having it. “Don’t be sorry. You obviously were uncomfortable with your date plans and just needed someone to talk to. And between you and me, I knew I was the best option that you had.”</p><p>Kanji snorted. “Yer a hell of a confident guy, Yu.”</p><p>“Confidence is key. You have to own everything you do and be unwavering in your actions.” Kanji noticed that Yu wasn’t exactly speaking to him, but just putting it out there for the world to hear. “If you’re able to approach every single situation with the same amount of confidence as the last, then you’ll be golden for the rest of your life.”</p><p>“Yer a weird guy.” Kanji just shook his head.</p><p>“But I’m a <em>confident</em> weird guy.”</p><p>“So ‘keep it simple and be confident,’ huh? ‘S what I should be takin’ away from today?” Kanji asked.</p><p>“Mhm.” Yu nodded and turned his head towards the taller man. “She’ll notice if you’re trying too hard. Just keep it simple and be confident.”</p><p>“Simple and confident.” Kanji repeated.</p><p>“Simple and confident.” Yu took his turn.</p><p>The bus pulled up and Yu took a few steps forward. Kanji said his goodbye with Yu returning it. As the doors swung open, Yu turned backed around.</p><p>“Hey Kanji.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“Simple and confident.” Yu said with a smirk.</p><p>Kanji beamed back at him and nodded. “Simple and confident.”</p><p>With that, Yu got on the bus and took his seat. Kanji looked up towards the window and as the bus began to depart, he shot a hand up and waved at his Senpai. Yu did the same. And after just a few moments, the bus was gone, and Kanji was by himself once more.</p><p>“Simple and confident, eh?” Kanji scratched at his head as he began walking back towards his shop. “I think I can do that.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well this one took a bit longer than it probably should've. I was dragging my feet on it, adding just a little bit each day. Hopefully it was worth the wait! Again, thanks everyone for reading and, although I should have been saying this from the beginning, any constructive criticism is welcome. Chapter 4 is already in the works (about 2k words in), so expect that...sometime? I dunno, it'll be out when it's out.</p><p>Til next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Correspondence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Dear Grandpa:</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I apologize for getting back to you so late. There have been some recent events transpiring that has left me reluctant on what I should write back to you. But first, before I go any further with that, I feel it is best to begin with my most recent case.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Simply put, my time in Katsuyama felt more welcoming than my last foray. Unfortunately, that’s the best I can say for the trip this time. Most of the police force there still seemed apprehensive about my assistance at first, but eventually they came around to tolerate my existence. As I was just playing an advisory role, I thankfully didn’t have to stay too long. The case I was aiding in seemed to be very open and shut—the body was discovered near a local butcher’s shop, the butcher himself didn’t have an alibi, and due to several testimonies, many of the locals said that the butcher and victim had tension between them for a myriad of years. When I took my leave, they were working on checking any blood found in the butcher’s shop as well as ascertaining to which knife could be the murder weapon. While I would like to say that I have faith in the work done by the police force, I wouldn’t be taken by surprise if they did find a way to fumble this case. I apologize that this goes against your teachings that I should believe in my fellow man. Alas, I am faraway from thinking as such with this particular police division.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now I find myself residing in Inaba. You, of course, knew of my case well beforehand, so I won’t be going over the details again. However, upon arriving here, I was informed that my assistance was no longer needed as they had made a huge breakthrough, enough to finally move forward and wrap things up. While I was a tad perturbed that they didn’t inform me until my arrival, I did see this as an opportunity to take some time for myself. Until my next case, I will be biding my time in Inaba, making a point to contact old friends and preparing thoroughly for when I leave yet again. It is unfortunate that I didn’t have the forethought to book ahead with Amagi-senpai at her family’s inn. With Summer opening up its chapter this year, the Amagi Inn is, quite understandably, at its busiest and they didn’t have any available accommodations for me. Perhaps whenever the next Inaba case comes across my desk my fortune will favor me better—or maybe I shouldn’t wait until the last possible moment when booking my housing needs. After these last few cases, I’ve been forlorn for a near-decent bed to rest my head in. Maybe another sign I need to visit the estate sometime soon? Ah, I’m rambling again, but the point still stands.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So now to the main topic at hand that I seem to be unconsciously avoiding whilst typing all of this out. As you know through all of our correspondences over the years, I have shown very little interest in any romantic endeavors. You have encouraged me, but never pushed me, to experience more in life than what I have let in. And I will be the first to admit that you are correct in doing so. Before my stint in Inaba during the murder case involving one Tohru Adachi, my world was one very narrow in its scope. I would only speak to people when necessary, I would only eat what was necessary (and stuck to the few items I found appetizing), and I certainly wouldn’t entertain the thought of romance. You might not remember the first time that the topic became relevant, back when Narukami-senpai was assisting in your “quest” of sorts. It was the first time I had truly felt connected with someone in such a way. But when I confronted him with my feelings, it was then that he informed me it wasn’t mutual. I grew disheartened, but I still remember the feeling well. I believe the experience led to my growth as a person. And perhaps, upon reviewing that time he and I spent together, it wasn’t a feeling of love; at least, not in the traditional sense. I do care about him a great deal, but I realized that the feeling was similar to that of how I felt about all of my friends. Perhaps, because he was one of my first true friends (that wasn’t family, don’t worry), I was just mistaken in what was there between us? Regardless, I suppose there isn’t much sense to dwell on it now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And now I am here today. Tomorrow, I will be going on a “date” with the young man who now runs Tatsumi Textiles by himself, Kanji Tatsumi. You should remember him Grandpa, as I invited him on a few of my visits up to the estate while we were in school together. After replaying the events that transpired that lead to this happening over and over again in my mind, I have come to realize that this wasn’t any accident on my part, as much as I believed it to be. These feelings I’ve had for the tailor prodigy mustn’t be anything short of “love.” I’ve harbored these thoughts for years at this point, and while it is much, much too early to say anything of the sort to him, I can safely say that there seems to be much difference in what I feel now versus what I felt for Narukami-senpai. And while I am happy that I have finally made an approach to this new world laid out before me, I am also beyond frightened. My friendship with Tatsumi-kun was one that I treasured years back and after losing it—the circumstances of which will remain a secret between you and I, I’m afraid—I’m quite anxious of the fact that I may lose him once more. However, I know that this is territory that needs to be explored. A detective needs to be thorough in their investigation, no? With these frivolous human emotions still clawing their way to the surface, I cannot bring myself just to let things be.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With this new and rekindled flame between Tatsumi-kun and I, perhaps it is a sign of better things to come. A brighter future may be lying in wait for me, but I must be the one to strike the match. By the time that you have read this and assuming that we follow our typical time between correspondences, the event in question happening tomorrow should have already taken place. I hope you are in understanding I write this without vitriol, but I am not seeking approval from you on my choice of a suitor. Tatsumi-kun is a perfectly respectable and more than capable man with a bright future of his own ahead of him. His passion for what he does is commendable and, despite that very thin veil in his past of acting as a delinquent, he is one of the most caring individuals I have come across in my travels. So as such, I do hope that whenever you find the time to write me back, that you choose not to dissuade me in my ventures.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>All of this to say, I hope to hear from you again soon Grandpa. After the next case in the coming weeks comes to a point of conclusion, perhaps I will find the time to visit the estate once again. Please, as always, give my best to Yakushiji-san. I miss the both of you a great deal.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Regards,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Naoto</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Long time, no update huh? I apologize for the wait on the newest chapter, but with work starting up again, I have been finding less and less time to write. So, to tide things over until I feel the actual next chapter is truly ready, I typed up a quick idea I had whilst working on the newest chapter. I consider this just an aside. While I don't want to give out any definitive dates on when the actual new chapter will be out because I hate making promises on things I can't keep, I will say I'm about 6k words into it and I feel I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with it. Give or take.</p><p>Anyways, I hope you all like this little extra slice of content. Next chapter will be out whenever, I suppose. Thanks again for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Offering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>(06:34) </em>
  <span>
    <b>Naoto: </b>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>MOVIE STARTS AT </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>4:30 </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>IN OKINA.</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>MEET-UP 4:15 AT THEATER.</span>
    <span>
      <span> THAT OK Y/N. </span>
    </span>
  </span>
</p><p>Kanji, who’s day had been starting off very slowly, looked tiredly over the words on the screen of his phone. There was zero doubt in his mind that Naoto had been awake for a decent amount of time now. He, however, woke up late and had only been up for fifteen minutes. His bathroom was still steamy and he didn’t even have a shirt picked out to wear for today. Yet here she was texting him like it was the middle of the day or something. Grumbling to himself about how it was too early for this, he drowsily tapped his fingers against the glass, putting together a very short and succinct message.</p><p><em>(06:35) </em><b>Kanji: </b>Yep.</p><p>With the message sent, a mysterious creature seemed to begin growling at him. He looked down, expecting perhaps a stray that had somehow managed to work its way into his abode. When he saw nothing, Kanji raised his ever-so tired brows off of their perch. When the sound came once more, it donned on him that he felt a slight aching coming from his stomach. It didn’t even register to him that he must have forgotten to eat at all yesterday. To him, yesterday had still been the day that he and Yu had discussed things. However, it occurred to Kanji that today was actually Friday and more than a whole day’s time had passed since his senpai came down to Inaba. It wasn’t like him to just skip meals—that was more of a Naoto-ism, he decided—especially for more than twenty-four hours. And his body reminded him of this fact as a growing pain spread, begging the young tailor to get something in his system. It didn’t care what it was that he fed himself at this point. Kanji’s body told him that he needed food in his belly and he needed it <em>now.</em></p><p>Almost stumbling to the kitchen, still no shirt on for the day, he quickly dug out a small frying pan and turned the left front burner on his stove-top to medium. Kanji then sprung towards the fridge, quickly getting out some butter and three eggs from a carton. Finding a knife in a drawer, he cut off a pat of the butter and let it melt on the frying pan. After five long and arduous minutes of waiting for the pan to warm up, he finally cracked the eggs one by one into the pan. Typically Kanji would have a lid on standby, allowing himself to make his preferred fried eggs. Even more typically he would not be starving due to his own stupidity and would have plenty of time to put together whatever breakfast he wanted. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and he simply decided to scramble them together. He didn’t worry about shredding any cheese or adding any garnishes. He simply plated the food, added some salt and pepper, and mistakenly went to chow down on the food right away, fanning his mouth between chews.</p><p>Kanji, upon finishing his food, cursed himself for not having something easy to make after the last time this happened. Ever since his workload increased, he found himself forgetting such a simple task as eating. Even worse, starting about a week ago, he noticed that his shirts that usually fit so snugly on him were loose. A lack of time meant a lack of workouts, which was leading to an unfortunate loss of muscle mass.</p><p>“Ain’t been able to hit the gym in almost two weeks now. Ain’t been on a run in three.” Kanji leaned back in his chair, recoiling forward almost immediately from the sharp cold of the furniture on his back. He sighed, deciding today may just not be his day, and told himself to just make it through work so he could get to his date with Naoto. With a newfound resolve, Kanji got up and went to get a shirt on.</p><hr/><p>Naoto let out a solemn sigh as she snapped her phone shut. The reply she received from Kanji that morning left something to be desired. She couldn’t fault him for the succinct message; he had been working tirelessly on all manners of different projects that were coming across his desk. Yesterday she had tried to reach out to him a couple of times throughout the day but never heard anything back up until the night sky was out over Inaba. Kanji apologized profusely for this, of course, even upon Naoto’s insistence that it was alright, she didn’t have any important matters to discuss, and that she was just looking for conversation.</p><p>That last part struck the young detective as particularly odd. She never hungered for human interaction the same way that others around her seemed to. She certainly wasn’t a Rise; at most Naoto would consider herself a Yukiko and even that seemed far-fetched. She kept up appearances for strangers and coworkers, but Naoto wasn’t about to try and strike up a conversation on their life’s story right there on that spot. Perhaps, she mused, that was a shortcoming of her skills as a detective. While it hadn’t proved necessary, there had been a few awkward misunderstandings in the past due to her poor social skills. But then she remembered that that was the way that she had met Kanji Tatsumi. With a small grin, she decided that perhaps awkward didn’t necessarily mean bad.</p><p>While she found herself in a reminiscing state of mind, Naoto looked back on how she had changed since her and the Investigation Team first came into contact with one another. She was much more open about herself. Sometimes she still had those moments where a person would ask her a question and she deflected it with one of her own—a simple yet effective strategy—but otherwise, Naoto didn’t mind answering things about her past. Not everything was an open book, but she was willing to skim the chapters and highlight the important parts. She wouldn’t have everyone as inclusive to her life as her friends were. To that point, Naoto still found it weird that people would willingly want to be friends with her. And even weirder was that fact that she accepted them as friends back. And maybe even the weirdest still was her blossoming friendship with Kanji during their schooling. Their time together on the team was fine and they got along well, but they never had socialized all too much one-on-one. Still, they had this unspoken bond, one that showcased itself in how they fought together. Not wanting to leave questions unanswered, she confronted him one day about it on their return from a stint in the TV world. That was the first time that he told her, without any hesitation and with a surprisingly serious tone, that it was because they ‘Had each other’s backs.’ The answer was so simple at the time that Naoto had actually let a chuckle escape her throat in front of the tailor. Looking back, it was always that simple. Everything in life didn’t have to have several moving parts or these intricate designs backing them. Life isn’t a Rube Goldberg machine that needs maintenance on every piece all the time. It’s a dense jungle in which you’re equipped with your sense of will and a machete.</p><p><em>Although I do hope that I find a clearing sometime soon then.</em> Naoto stood up from her chair and grabbed her now empty cup that had remnants of coffee in it. With a shake of her head, she decided that she was being much too philosophical for the time of day. <em>A walk at the riverbank will hopefully clear things up.</em></p><hr/><p>“I placed this order a week and a half ago! How isn’t it finished yet?!”</p><p>Kanji breathed in and out slowly, eyes shut as tight as a vault. This was what he assumed to be the second cancellation of the day calling in. At noon, the day was already going as abysmally as he was afraid it’d be. He impatiently listened to the customer rattle off a list of adjectives that Kanji could only guess was being targeted at him. This particular call-in had kept him on the phone for about ten minutes now without any sign of stopping. Instead of wasting any of that valuable time, he opted to make use of it and pick up a pair of needles at about minute three. If he was lucky, then maybe he could finish up one of the random assorted dolls that he had on his backlog. At points, the shrill voice on the other end of the line died off, prompting Kanji to give his best “Mhm” to send them back into their frenzy. Dealing with surly customers wasn’t exactly the tailor’s forte. He just didn’t see the point in treating these people with respect if he wasn’t going to receive it in return. That thought in his mind, he wondered if the posting he put up yesterday got any email applications back. If anything, he wouldn’t mind someone at least looking for part-time work. Naoto, and by extension Yu, was right as always. He couldn’t see him keeping up this same act all the time. It was a grating experience, trying to keep a business like this running. And, upon looking at the clock, Kanji decided that he had enough of the woman’s bickering at the fifteen minute mark.</p><p>Slamming down the needles on the desk in front of him, he let out a groan. “Listen, Aokiji-san, was it? As much as I’d love to keep on listenin’ to yer harpin’ all day, I do have other work to be doin’. And lemme tell ya, it ain’t a loss to me right now if you decide to cancel your order. That custom pattern ya ordered actually would make somethin’ nice for me to put in the storefront. From the beginnin’, I was upfront with how much work I had in front of ya. I just started workin’ on yours yesterday and, if ya’d let me get off the phone and actually get back to it, I can have it ready for ya by tomorrow afternoon. Hell, I’ll even give ya a discount for the wait to make it up to you. But bottom line is that I ain’t got time for you to keep yappin’. Now, are ya gonna let me get back to-”</p><p>The other end of the line went dead, and Kanji sighed deeply. “Can’t say I didn’t see that one comin’.” His face now wearing a bitter scowl, he tossed the phone somewhere off to the side, he stood up and walked towards the storefront where his mother had usually sat, grabbed a nearby pad and pencil with a list of names on it, and scribbled out the name that read ‘<em>Aokiji-san.</em>’ When Kanji’s vision fell back onto the emptiness of the tatami mats, guilt sneaked up and punched him right in the gut.</p><p>“Tch,” Kanji looked back over the mats with a frown. <em>If ma was still here, she would’ve kept that woman happy. </em>With a headache now beginning to form at his scar, Kanji clenched his teeth together tightly. The desire to punch something was once again rearing its ugly head. That all-too familiar sensation was bubbling and stewing deep inside him as he rolled his wrists and cracked his knuckles.</p><p>“Um, Kanji-kun?”</p><p>Kanji surmised that he failed to hear the door slide open. Before him was the Amagi heiress herself, Yukiko.</p><p>“Are you doing okay?” Yukiko’s expression deepened with concern as she walked into the storefront.</p><p>Kanji straightened himself up and cleared his throat. “Ah, yeah, hey ya Yukiko-senpai. My bad.” He took a step down from the elevated platform to put himself on a somewhat more even footing with her. “Yeah, m’fine. Just the shop gettin’ to me again is all.”</p><p>“You’re saying that as if it isn’t such a big deal. You and I should know as well as anybody that keeping a business afloat is difficult work. I couldn’t imagine doing the work that I do without any help.”</p><p>“Look, between Naoto ‘n Yu-senpai, I’ve talked about hirin’ on some help more in the past three days than I’ll ever care for doin’ again. The fliers are out there and I got some postings up on some job sites, but it ain’t like it’s gonna happen overnight. So just let it go, yeah?” Kanji tiredly closed his eyes and breathed in. After a long exhale, and when no response came, he continued. “Sorry, ain’t meanin’ to act so annoyed. ‘M sure that yer here to pick up the regular orders?”</p><p>“That can be put on hold, Kanji-kun.” Yukiko replied curtly. “I refuse to do business with you while you’re in this state.”</p><p>Kanji was quick to respond. “The hell is that-”</p><p>“Now come along, we’ll get some lunch. I am sure that if we go now, most of the rush will have gone through at Marukyu.” Yukiko turned to the door and opened it once again. “Let’s hurry along now. I am getting a bit hungry.”</p><p>With no room to protest, Kanji, although initially put off by Yukiko just assuming that she could just drag him along, grumbled to himself and went to grab the ‘<em>Out to Lunch</em>’ sign that graced his door only rarely these days. He quickly slipped some shoes on and stepped outside, placing the sign firmly in place, and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked down at Yukiko. “Alright, c’mon, let’s go.” They took only a few steps before Kanji looked over to the local shrine. “Uh, actually, hold on.”</p><p>“I’m not letting you go that easily, Kanji-kun. Obviously something is amiss, so-”</p><p>“That ain’t it. I just wanna, uh, stop in real quick.” Kanji nonchalantly lifted his hand and pointed at the shrine with his thumb. “’M sure that the fox is gonna be lookin’ for some cash anyhow.”</p><p>The heiress nodded. “I suppose it has been a minute since I’ve donated to the shrine. I can only imagine that the poor thing’s hairs must be going gray.” She finished with a small snort.</p><p>“Alright, nippin’ that in the bud real quick. I ain’t seen you for all of five minutes and, I dunno if you could tell, but my patience is as thin as a sheet right now.” Kanji wore a scowl.</p><p>“Fine, fine Kanji-kun.” Yukiko cleared her throat. “You’re lucky I’ve managed to learn how to control those fits of mine.” Kanji could only roll his eyes away at the matter-of-fact tone. “Now let us go say our prayers, yes?”</p><p>After a quick nod of his head, Kanji followed with slow and long strides behind the girl. He looked around and noticed that the shrine was remarkably empty. The time of day did don on him after a few seconds of thought, noting that all the kids and teenagers were probably at school. The only other person that he and Yukiko had seen was the spry older man who was cheerily trimming up the branches on the trees at the entrance. None of that really mattered to Kanji anyways. He couldn’t care less if what they were doing was going to be a private affair or not.</p><p><em>Wait a sec, what </em><em><b>am</b></em><em> I doing? </em>Kanji furrowed his brows and his hands fiddled with the inner fabric of his pants pockets. He wasn’t all too sure what possessed him to want to head into the shrine. He just knew that he saw it and a chord of guilt struck him for some reason. <em>Well, it ain’t just some reason.</em> <em>Ain’t no sense in lyin’ to myself about it.</em> Arriving in front of the shrine, he let out a drawn-out sigh as his hands fiddled for some money.</p><p>“Pray <em>first,</em> Kanji-kun.” Yukiko stated, already clasping both hands together. Kanji simply dropped whatever money he had in hand back into his pockets. Once both of his appendages were free, he followed suit, closing his eyes while doing so.</p><p><em>I dunno what to even say. Gonna be honest with ya God, spirits, or whoever the hell’s listenin’ to me, most of the time I’m standin’ here with someone else just waitin’ for them to finish. I usually ain’t about all this crap—no offense. Right now though, kinda lost. If ya are out there, I ain’t askin’ for miracles. Just a kick in the pants to get my ass in gear, yeah? </em>Kanji inhaled and exhaled heavily. <em>And, uh, Ma? Yeah, not sure if I’m buyin’ into you hearin’ me but I know that if someone is listenin’ to all this rambling I’m doin’, it’s gonna be you. </em>Flashbacks of the day of his mother’s death began to play in Kanji’s head.<em> Look, just wanted to say I love ya Ma. And I’m sorry. Sorry that I caused ya trouble for all those years. Sorry that my work as a tailor wasn’t better before ya left. More than anything, I’m sorry if I ain’t the man that you </em><em>or Dad</em><em> wanted me to be. But I’m gonna try and do better and </em><em><b>be</b></em><em> better, Ma. </em>His own screams echoed in his head as he remembered that fateful day clearly. His hands clamped together tighter. <em>Just keep an eye on me Ma, and watch the man I’m gonna be! </em></p><p>“Kanji-kun?”</p><p>A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him back into the real world. Kanji’s sharp inhale coupled with a sudden turn of his head caused Yukiko to immediately draw her hand back to her side. His eyes were wide, and when he looked down at his hands and saw just how pale they had become, he released them immediately.</p><p>“Um,” Yukiko began hesitantly. “Kanji-kun.” She pointed at her own left eye, making the tailor confused. After just a second, he reached up to his own face and felt just how wet it was.</p><p>“Fuck.” Kanji stated bluntly as he turned away from his friend, wiping desperately at his eyes. “Didn’t mean for ya to see me like this. Sorry senpai.”</p><p>“Don’t apologize, Kanji-kun.” Yukiko gingerly reached out and once again her hand found itself on his shoulder. “It’s that time of the year, isn’t it?” She received a defeated sigh alongside a nod as her answer, Kanji still refusing to face her. “I wish there was something that I could do to help comfort you.”</p><p>“Don’t need any sympathy, senpai. Last thing I need is a pity party comin’ along an-”</p><p>“It is <em>not</em> pity, Kanji.” Yukiko walked around to look the man in his eyes, flames lit behind stern eyes of her own. “You attempted to shut us out when it happened. So I’m telling you as a friend: stop doing this to yourself, please.” The fire died out as quickly as it had come to life, her voice returning to its normal state. “The last thing any of us want for each other is to fall back where we were before.”</p><p>“Ya ain’t gotta worry `bout that. It was seven years ago.” Kanji looked down with irritation locked into his eyes.</p><p>“I will always worry about my friends. As does the rest of the group.” Yukiko breathed in deeply before venturing the conversation into different waters. “Even Naoto-kun.”</p><p>Kanji huffed and looked to the side. “Yeah, I know.”</p><p>“I remember you mentioning earlier that you and her had recently spoken. Were you able to patch things up?”</p><p>Kanji answered with a sharp and immediate “We <em>did.</em>”</p><p>Although caught off-guard, the heiress recovered quickly with a large and bright smile. “That’s wonderful, Kanji-kun!”</p><p>“Yeah.” Kanji rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually hangin’ out with her later on.”</p><p>“Well that sure makes it sounds that things have settled back into their typical routine. I would love to have all of us be able to get together again. If you two have made up and start getting along again, then the most we would have to worry about is getting the timing right.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, we’ll see.” Kanji stated through clenched teeth, choosing not to add anything to the conversation.</p><p>“I don’t suppose you would mind if I tagged along, would you?” Yukiko posed with the question in full earnest. Much to her confusion, Kanji snapped his head to face her again with wide eyes.</p><p>“Uh, `bout that senpai...”</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“It’s kind of a private thing, y’know? A one-on-one affair?” Kanji gritted his teeth when a dumb look was still upon the heiress’s face. “Three’s a crowd, senpai.”</p><p>“I’m afraid I still don’t understand.” Yukiko shuffled her feet around with her arms behind her back.</p><p>“Oh for cryin’ out loud!” Kanji shook his head. “It’s a <em>date</em>, senpai. Naoto ‘n I are goin’ on a <em>date</em>.”</p><p>“Oh.” After a few seconds of silence between the two, she suddenly brightened up. “Well congratulations to the both of you!”</p><p>“Um, thanks.” Kanji sheepishly stuck his hands back home in his pockets.</p><p>Yukiko reached into her purse, quickly slipping her phone in and out of the bag with raised eyebrows. “Well, we must hurry with our lunch now, as I need to return to the inn sooner than expected. So go ahead and make your offering, Kanji-kun.”</p><p>Kanji nodded and turned around to the golden box in front of him. Knowing the place for years and years, he found it pretty jarring one day when he thought he heard some form of construction noises next door. When he decided to investigate the next morning, he saw that various pieces had been replaced with that of solid gold. At first he thought that Yu had ordered it for the fox, but after reflecting a bit more, he thought that the fox was sly enough that it could manage doing it itself somehow. Still, that was seven years ago at this point, and Kanji didn’t have much use looking back on and questioning small things such as that. Instead, he simply reached into his pockets and tossed in generous enough of an offering that the fox would leave him alone. <em>Probably</em>, he decided.</p><p>“Kanji-kun.” Yukiko began, her voice wavering only for a second.</p><p>“What’s it now, senpai?” Kanji asked, trying not to sound agitated.</p><p>“Seeing as there is no easy way to say this, I’ll just do it. Are you actually ever going to discuss what happened during that time when you lost your mother with Naoto?”</p><p>“No,” was the short and succinct reply that left the man’s lips. He turned around, not expressing any emotion in particular. “’N I wanna keep it that way.”</p><p>“Kanji-kun-”</p><p>“No, Yukiko-senpai.”</p><p>Yukiko ignored him and continued pleading. “She’s the only other one who would understand what you’re going through. You need to talk about this with someone. You made it very obvious during that week where it happened that you weren’t going to speak with any of the rest of us about it.”</p><p>“What is there to talk about, huh? She’s gone! She’s dead! That’s it!” Kanji realized his outburst and immediately backed down. “Look, bottom line is I’m gonna talk about it when I <em>want</em> to talk about it.”</p><p>“And when will that be?” Yukiko challenged.</p><p>
  <span>
    <span> “</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Tch,” Kanji shoved his hands back into his pockets and looked away. “When I’m </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>ready</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span>. ‘N if I hear any talk from Naoto `bout how she wants to talk about me ‘n ma, I’ll know one of you guys put her up to it! I ain’t dumb enough to fall for that crap anymore! So senpai, all I’m askin’: please just drop it. I’m beggin’ ya.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>When Kanji looked back over at Yukiko, the girl couldn’t help but notice the swelling tears in his eyes. With a reluctant sigh, Yukiko conceded. “Very well, Kanji-kun. I will not tell the others of what has transpired here. However, we, as a group, have </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>already</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span> informed Naoto of how you dealt with the death of your mother. This was all well before any of the events that took place this past week, so I hope you understand that it would be unfair to expect Naoto not to bring up the topic of her own free will.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Kanji, who was busy once again wiping away any tears in his eyes, placed his glasses squarely back on his head. “Figured that already, the way she was apologizin’ for not makin’ it when we talked.” Kanji shook his head. “Well senpai, I’m gonna head back to the shop. I’m behind on my work. Sorry to ditch ya on yer lunch break.” He passed by her. “I’ll make sure to drop by the inn and drop off yer order later on before all my plans are happenin’.” </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ain’t like lunch is gonna be lively after all that crap we just talked about anyways.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>“Fine, Kanji-kun.”</p><p>And after each said their good-byes, Kanji quickly made his way back to his shop and took down the sign before going to find which project needed working on first.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So you're gonna notice that the chapters will be getting relatively shorter over time. This is strictly because of the lack of time, I have had to make the decision that if I'm going to be making any progress on this story at a meaningful pace, then I will need to be a bit more precise in what I say and how I say it. Anyways, next chapter is already in the works. Hope you enjoy this one. Again, thanks for reading.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Figuring it Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Halfway to Okina, Kanji was positive that Naoto had already arrived to the movie theater by this point. <em>Probably took the train before mine,</em> he guessed to himself. He and Naoto had agreed that driving scooters around to their destinations wasn’t the best idea for the night if alcohol was to be involved in their evening together. It was more for Kanji’s sake than anything, he realized. He was sure that Naoto shared his sentiment, but she lacked the vehicle to drive around in the first place. It was just a temporary visit, after all, and she got around to most of Japan just fine without having to drive herself.</p>
<p>These idle thoughts distracted Kanji enough to get him the rest of the way to Okina. A lot of things hadn’t gone right for him today, but he wanted—rather, he decided, he needed this to go well. So when he felt the metal tube that carried him slow down, he felt a newfound sense of determination coupled with a small dose of nervousness. He waited patiently for everything to come to a complete halt, and once it did, exited the rail car while the announcement of their arrival played overhead.</p>
<p>Kanji was quick to make his way down the steps. It wasn’t a question of if Naoto was going to be waiting on him, but rather how long she had been waiting. And the last thing he wanted to do was keep his date waiting for too long, even if they were both extremely early. Sure enough, he looked over the top of many peoples’ heads to see Naoto waiting patiently in front of the theater, leaning up against the side of the building. She was wearing her normal outfit (she had called Kanji earlier asking what to wear, to which he told her just to put on whatever she’s comfortable in, no need to complicate things), the blue hat making it obvious who it was a mile away. Before diving into the sea of people, Kanji took one last deep breath and made his way over, trying his best to appear as casual as possible.</p>
<p>His approach was confident, but Kanji grimaced when he heard his voice call out in greeting. “Y-Yo Naoto.” <em>Suave, I ain’t.</em></p>
<p>“Greetings, Kanji-k-” Naoto stopped herself, closed her eyes, and breathed in. It would still take her an annoying amount of time to get used to saying it to his face. “Kanji.”</p>
<p>“Hey, ya did it first try this time! I’m proud!” Kanji, who was now standing next to Naoto and towering over her, couldn’t resist teasing her when the opportunity arose. He wanted to get their relationship back on track as quickly as possible. That conversation the other day had helped considerably in easing any tension still between them, but he still felt that they would need to speak about things a bit more thoroughly.</p>
<p>He was a little bummed when her expression didn’t change. Instead, Naoto just smiled and accepted the praise, looking up towards the sky, and therefore at her date. She didn’t let her face wear the thought, but she couldn’t stop wondering, even after all this time, how someone could be so damn tall. “Life is very unfair.” She grinned and looked down, reaching up for her hat. When she heard a grunt of confusion from Kanji, she continued. “I’ve only breached 160cm. Next to your gargantuan size, I seem like a child.”</p>
<p>Kanji clenched his teeth and looked to the side, watching the occasional vehicle pass by. “Bein’ tall ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. The world ain’t made for guys my size.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps,” Naoto conceded. “But a bit of discomfort for superior physical attributes seems a decent trade-off, no?”</p>
<p>“I dunno.” Kanji shrugged. “Depends on what yer doin’ and what you want outta life, I guess.” After seeing Naoto nod thoughtfully, he looked down at the watch on his wrist. The time read three past four. The two of them had both shown up rather early, but that was to be expected. Naoto was always one to believe that if she wasn’t early then she was late (unless it was school, Kanji noted, then she just walked in on-time with him), and Kanji would always arrive early to something that he cared about. His nerves wouldn’t let him be calm until he was at whatever the destination may be. And in this particular instance, Kanji knew that the feeling of calm that he yearned for was always going to elude him. Had he known that Naoto was going through very similar feelings now, then maybe he would be able to relax a little.</p>
<p>After a few seconds of deliberation, Kanji looked back down to his companion to provide his insight. “We’re pretty freakin’ early.”</p>
<p>“We should just buy our tickets for now. I doubt that the previous showing of the film is even done yet, so we would be unable to find our seats for a time.” Naoto placed her hand up on her chin.</p>
<p>“Sounds fine to me. We can kill time at a few of the games they got til they let us in.” Kanji suggested, and to a bit of his surprise, Naoto looked fine with the idea.</p>
<p>“Then let us go.” Naoto walked up to the door and grabbed onto the handle. She held it open and stood off to the side. She gestured at Kanji with a sly smile. “After you.”</p>
<p>Kanji felt some discomfort that he didn’t attempt to hide. “Ain’t I s’posed to be doin’ that crap for you?”</p>
<p>“I am simply just holding a door, Kanji. So please, I insist, after you.” The smile never left Naoto’s face, hoping that Kanji wouldn’t contest something so trivial any further. The thought had apparently never even crossed his mind as she watched Kanji shrug with a small crack of a smile and proceed through the doorway. Naoto followed in tow.</p>
<p>At the same time his face seemed to suggest it, a thought appeared in Kanji’s mind as he turned back around to face Naoto once they were inside. “Oh yeah, the hell is the movie we’re seein’ anyways?”</p>
<p>“An action film called <em>Runaway</em>. It’s a film about a police officer, who’s daughter has ran away from home, getting involved with the local drug lords of the area on her own volition. The officer has to make the decision between his own flesh and blood, or doing the right thing and performing his job to ensure the safety of his city.”</p>
<p>“Huh. Sounds kinda interestin’.” Kanji pursed his lips. “How’s the reviews?”</p>
<p>“Terrible.” Kanji chuckled when he saw Naoto’s face practically glow when she said the word.</p>
<p>“Yeah, sure sounds like our kinda flick.” Kanji crossed his arms and looked over to the kiosks. “I’m gonna go stand in line and get our tickets. Feel free to join me, but I ain’t gonna be heartbroken if you wanna go screw around with some of the games they got lined up.”</p>
<p>“I am here to spend time with <em>you</em>, Kanji.” Naoto watched him fight back a wave of red from overtaking his face, and she continued. “That aside, I do find these old arcade cabinets to be rather dull unless I’m accompanied by a confidant.”</p>
<p>“A confident what?”</p>
<p>“A <em>confidant</em>, Kanji. Somebody that I consider close.” Naoto explained.</p>
<p>Kanji was sure he was getting the simplified version, but he just moved on. “Alright then, let’s get goin’ then, yeah?”</p>
<p>The two then went and patiently waited in line together, filling in the time between with things that they had done today. Kanji didn’t mention the talk with Yukiko, but he did tell Naoto that he had lunch with her. Naoto explained that the only thing of note that she had done so far was going for a walk along the riverbank, inviting Kanji along for her next walk in the process. After the two received their tickets, they proceeded over to old arcade machines. Naoto, of course, proved herself more than capable at the gun games, outmatching Kanji in every single instance that they played. Kanji, although doing well at hiding it, grew angrier and angrier at each round loss and did his best to bite his tongue just when he was about to have an outburst. But when it came to an old fighting game, Kanji proved to be more adept. He never told Naoto that he had played that game a ton when he was younger and the muscle memory was still there, allowing him to execute difficult combos and advanced techniques that he knew about.</p>
<p>After another victory, Kanji took a look at his phone. “Oh, it’s ‘bout that time. Let’s go in.”</p>
<p>Naoto, who’s frustration had been growing—at several points even muttering “bullshit” under her breath when she got hit by one of Kanji’s moves—was all too keen to go inside. “I feel as if I have lost all dignity I ever could retain whilst playing this game.”</p>
<p>“Hey, ya kicked my ass at the gun game. We’re even.”</p>
<p>“But I don’t <em>want</em> to be even; I <em>want </em>to <em>win.</em>” Naoto admitted rather childishly.</p>
<p>“Maybe another time.” Kanji said smugly. “Now c’mon, the movie’s gonna start soon. I wanna try and find some good seats so I can watch this trash-fire in all its glory.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Wow. That sure was...”</p>
<p>“Mhm. Indeed.”</p>
<p>Naoto and Kanji exited the theater in unison, neither particularly keen on striking up a conversation straightaway. However, as soon as they were outside and around the corner, both of them started laughing.</p>
<p>“<em>Christ</em> Naoto, that was <em>terrible!</em>”</p>
<p>“That story was completely nonsensical. I couldn’t believe that they tried to convince us that the father was actually the drug kingpin the entire time. It didn’t make any sense!”</p>
<p>“You’re tellin’ me! What the hell were those fight scenes? Felt like I was gonna throw up from how much the cameras were movin’ and cuttin’ away.”</p>
<p>“It was <em>very</em> excessive.” After a few more minutes of ragging on how bad the movie was, they recomposed themselves. Naoto decided to take the initiative. “I presume you have chosen somewhere for us to continue our rendezvous?” She folded her arms, glancing up towards Kanji who was performing his new habit of rubbing at the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“Course I have. Ya woulda been mad if I didn’t.” Kanji smiled, but was met with a less amused expression when he looked down. He grunted to clear the catch in his throat. “Uh, we gotta go back to Inaba now. ‘S the place where I visit with the Senpais and Ted whenever we got the chance.”</p>
<p>“It is a tad surprising to me that it is located in Inaba. I would have presumed that the others—at least Teddy, for that matter—would want to go somewhere more lively.”</p>
<p>“The place does the job just fine. And besides, would <em>you</em> wanna be the one in charge of Ted when he gets drunk in a crowd full of people?” Kanji smirked at the thought of Naoto playing the parent to Teddy’s antics. He found himself a bit perplexed, however, when he saw a questioning look dawn on her face. “Uh, what’s up?”</p>
<p>“Can Teddy even become intoxicated?” Naoto pondered aloud.</p>
<p>“Huh? Course he-” And then a thought hit Kanji mid-sentence. Could the short and petite pretty-boy blonde really get drunk? He never really did see Teddy act any different, even after chugging down a few Shochu cocktails. Kanji, at times, would look down the bar at the somewhat difficult young man and see an empty glass almost every single time. He couldn’t blame Teddy; the tailor also thought just about any drink involving Shochu was delicious. But Kanji just figured that Teddy could handle his liquor better than others just like the tailor. But looking back, that still didn’t make any sense with the sheer volume of liquid that he put back.</p>
<p>Finally, Kanji settled on “I really have no fuckin’ clue.”</p>
<p>At this, Naoto contemplated on it just a few moments longer and shrugged. “A question for a later date, I suppose.” She turned on her heel and looked back towards her date. “Shall we?” Kanji thought he saw her swallow, and then realized that her arm was moving back towards him. It took a few seconds of Naoto’s hand being outstretched for him to connect the dots and realize what she was going for.</p>
<p>“<em>Oh.</em>” Was all Kanji could muster. He urged every nerve in his body to react in some way. Eventually, the ones in his arm seemed to have mercy on him and he reached out and grabbed onto her hand, doing his best to ensure that he wasn’t latching onto it too tight. Kanji took a step forward to be on even ground with Naoto. He turned to look down at her and, to his unexpected relief, it seemed that she was a bit embarrassed about it too. But when he noticed Naoto smiling behind that wall of red, he couldn’t help but return it, and any self-consciousness seemed to melt away.</p>
<p>When Kanji chuckled to himself, Naoto’s expression turned bewildered. “May I ask what is humoring you?”</p>
<p>“Oh, nothin’ really. Just,” Kanji trailed off and looked straight ahead. “Look at us. Two grown-ass adults and we’re gettin’ all worked up over holdin’ hands. It’s gotta be a miracle that we’re on a date right now.” At that, Kanji earned a mirrored chuckle and a nod of agreement from Naoto. “Didn’t ever expect ya to be the one to ask me out though. Even Yu-senpai was surprised.”</p>
<p>Naoto caught the somewhat unfortunate slip from her date. She guessed correctly that Kanji didn’t want her to know about her former senpai and his meeting. “May I inquire as to why you and Yu-senpai spoke about this?” At Kanji’s very obvious hesitation, she lifted her free hand and cleared her throat.</p>
<p>“Fine.” Kanji said flatly, disappointment resonant in his tone. “If ya gotta know, I was nervous as hell, frettin’ over all the little shit involvin’ tonight. Before all that shit between you ‘n I went down, I always went to you for that kinda stuff. Then I started and still <em>was</em> goin’ to Rise.” The mention of the idol’s name managed to get a wince out of Naoto that went without notice of Kanji. “Well, figured this time around there was a, uh...” He stumbled, snapping fingers before eventually finding the correct turn of phrase. “Oh yeah, ‘conflict of interest.’ At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what ya called it way back when.” Kanji felt no shame in any pride that rested on his face from recalling terminology that Naoto used routinely. “So instead, I went to Yu-senpai. He did his thing where he gave advice without really givin’ any advice at all and lettin’ me get to the answer on my own.”</p>
<p>Naoto hummed in thought before deciding the explanation was sufficient. “And I suppose that ship has sailed smoothly since then?”</p>
<p>“I mean, I’m here instead of whimperin’ at home like a scared lil’ puppy, ain’t I?” Kanji attempted a first step out towards the station.</p>
<p>“I highly doubt that you could be <em>that</em> scared of me.” Naoto rolled her eyes before easing into her normal stride alongside Kanji.</p>
<p>“Woman, you really have no idea just how <em>terrified</em> you make me.” Naoto was able to give Kanji an aberrant squint before they reached the steps leading to the station. Every step that they ascended, Naoto couldn’t help but dwell on that comment more and more. By the time that they had arrived to the apex and were both drawing out cash for tickets back, Naoto couldn’t free the idea of Kanji being afraid of her from her mind. Her intuition wouldn’t let go of what she was sure was just supposed to be an innocent comment, and she let Kanji know this.</p>
<p>To her chagrin, Kanji wasn’t keen on supplying an answer. “I dunno what to tell ya Naoto. Didn’t expect ya to think too much about it.”</p>
<p>“I am just simply at a loss as to how someone such as yourself—butch, muscular, tall, handso—erm, that is...” Naoto halted her gushing before it became too far-gone. “I’m just flummoxed as to how you see me as intimidating.”</p>
<p>“C’mon, Naoto. Yer smart enough to know that ya ain’t gotta have muscle to be threatenin’.” Kanji bashfully rubbed at his neck. “You probably know that I was crushin’ on ya long before the whole ‘really being a girl’ thing came to light, yeah? Ya scared me so much back then that it had to be nothin’ short of marvelous that I was able to talk to ya. And it was cause you made me realize any insecurities I had. ‘Oh God, he’s cute, am I gay? Oh fuck, he’s a she? Then what does that make me?’” Kanji frowned indifferently. “Just those kinda thoughts, y’know?”</p>
<p>Naoto, who had let go of Kanji’s hand during his explanation, was doing her best to fight off any extreme guilt that she felt. She damned her instinct as a detective to ask these questions and keep on pressing until she received some vindication. “I am deeply sorry, Kanji. I shouldn’t have assailed you with such thoughts. This is no time nor place to be asking these questions.” Kanji just shrugged and gave her a generic response, which didn’t do anything to quell the regret. “I was just unaware as to the extent of my effects on you. I knew of your feelings, yes, but I could never comprehend as to how severe it actually was.”</p>
<p>“Like I said, we’re fine Naoto. Didn’t really ever have to talk about it back in school, so no way ya could’ve known, yeah?” The inflection of which Kanji spoke didn’t match all too well with what he said, Naoto noticed. At that, she couldn’t help but think of what an absolutely stellar job she had been doing at making her date feel comfortable insofar. Still, she felt it best to just accept that this particular topic had been a failure on her part and to just move on.</p>
<p>With an unusually shaky voice, Naoto pushed for a different discussion. “W-Well, Kanji-kun, I-”</p>
<p>“No, stop that.”</p>
<p>A quick upturn of Naoto’s head had her eyes lock with Kanji’s. “Huh?”</p>
<p>“You’re gonna get trapped in yer own brain thinkin’ ya screwed shit up. Stop that.” Kanji said blankly.</p>
<p>“But-”</p>
<p>“Nuh-uh, no ‘buts’ about it. Yer head works a bit different and I know it ain’t somethin’ as easy as flippin’ a switch for ya to turn it off.” Kanji smirked. “If anything, I’m feelin’ all warm that ya care enough to dig that deep. Sure, it ain’t somethin’ pleasant to be talking about on a date, but the fact that you’re here with me at all makes it so nothin’ can put me in a bad mood.”</p>
<p>At that statement, Naoto sighed. “I suppose that you are correct. Forgive me, I find myself inexperienced when it comes to this.”</p>
<p>“’S alright. Ain’t like everything is gonna go perfectly when yer tryin’ somethin’ new for the first time. I know that probably pisses ya off cause you’re a perfectionist and ya convinced yourself that you can’t suck at anything, but it’s how it’s gonna be for awhile.”</p>
<p>“Well then,” Naoto spoke. “All I ask for is your patience. I will attempt to become better at a quick pace so we will have less of these awkward moments together.”</p>
<p>“If ya say so. But we got time, so ya don’t have to rush.” Kanji turned his attention back towards the tracks. “Now c’mon, let’s go grab our tickets, yeah?”</p>
<p>Naoto nodded. “Yes, let’s.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>With each stride they made past closed-down shops—Naoto wondered how having another bar here would actually be beneficial, but if it was a popular place for Kanji, she wouldn’t bring it up—they made their way closer to their destination. At some point, Kanji noticed her staring just a tad above his head with determination. “Uh, somethin’ wrong there?”</p>
<p>Naoto cocked her head to the side. “I was just curious as to why you don’t do anything with your hair anymore.”</p>
<p>Kanji rolled his eyes upwards, reaching up to jostle his hair around. “I dunno. Just ain’t ever felt the need to after the whole tryin’ to look badass act.”</p>
<p>“Ah, I see. I was just thinking that you would be much more interested in styling yourself considering your profession and your affection for ‘cute things.’” Naoto made air quotes with her fingers as she finished her sentence. “Is dyeing your hair not considered cute?”</p>
<p>“Uh, I mean, I ain’t sayin’ that it can’t be cute, but whenever I’m lookin’ at someone for their style, their hair ain’t exactly my area of expertise. N’ it comes across more quirky than cute to me whenever I see someone rockin’ some weird-ass hairdo with all these different colors and crap. Top of that, I got patience for a lotta shit, but not before I get woke up in the mornin’, and whatever the hell I do with my hair after I shower’s just about all I’m gonna mess with it.” Kanji finished with a shrug, now seeing the bar that he usually frequented with Yu and the other guys.</p>
<p>“It always struck me as odd that you never did attempt it again. I understood why you stopped during high school, seeing as you had just gotten done with bleaching your hair in your rebellious phase and were in need of a break from it. But when I visited you the other morning, I was expecting something more vibrant, I suppose.”</p>
<p>“Didn’t mean to disappoint.” Kanji replied with a snarky tone, but dropped it immediately after feeling a tinge of guilt. <em>Hell, she has </em><em><b>blue</b></em><em> hair! How the fuck does that make any sense?! </em>He shook his head, disregarding the thought. “Why, you wantin’ me to do some wacky shit with my hair?”</p>
<p>Naoto shook her head. “No, it was merely an observation. The way you style your hair has no pull in how attracted I am to you.”</p>
<p>Kanji could feel himself warming up. “O-Oh yeah, and how’s that?”</p>
<p>“Seven out of ten.” Kanji turned his head downwards suddenly to catch Naoto’s roguish grin. “Only joking, Kanji.”</p>
<p>“Even if ya weren’t jokin’ I’d still take the seven.” Kanji returned the smile.</p>
<p>“Well we still have a lengthy night ahead of us, don’t we?” Naoto teased. She felt her inner-Rise surge and she noted how much <em>power</em> she felt like she had. The detective couldn’t blame the idol for doing this all the time. She even heard in the deepest part of her psyche a voice, sounding much like Rise’s, yelling at her to <em>‘Twist him around your little finger,’</em> and <em>‘Yeah! This is the true power of being a woman!’ </em>Still, Naoto was on a date with her friend, so she wouldn’t abuse the power (<em>too much,</em> a thought decided), much to the chagrin of whatever hint of the navigator was nesting in her mind.</p>
<p>It had seemed that Kanji had caught on anyways. “Jeez, soundin’ like Rise over there.” He got out through clenched teeth. The bar now in front of them, he grabbed onto the door handle and pulled it, holding it for Naoto. “You and her talk recently or somethin’?” <em>I swear Shirogane, if you try lyin’ to me about this I don’t </em><em><b>ever</b></em><em> wanna hear about my lyin’ ever again.</em></p>
<p>“I sought out advice on how to approach our date and assuring that it goes smoothly.” Naoto nodded at him as she moved in past him. Immediately she began to look over the inner workings of the establishment they just entered. The first thing she noticed was how everything seemed to have this modern charm to it while still maintaining a slightly older vibe. It looked to have an overall darker tone to it, but the mood was anything but. The walls were solid white, the occasional painting hung up on it to provide some garnishes to the otherwise boring static white void. The material used for most furniture was sleek cherry wood for the chairs, tables, booths, and the shelves where the booze called home. Walnut wood was used for the bar itself alongside it’s stools, and seemed to continue into the flooring. The bar itself was decently sized for a place such as Inaba, but somewhat small compared to the ones she found herself in while on jobs in other cities. Four booths, four tables—enough to seat up to four apiece—and six stools didn’t offer too much room for a lot of patrons, but she ventured a guess that it was all they really needed. Each table and booth had a bright globe light hanging up from above it. The bar itself seemed to have a strip of lighting fixed above it.</p>
<p>Naoto opened her mouth to begin asking Kanji questions, but found herself interrupted. “Yeah, I saw ya gawkin’ over the place. It ain’t been open for long. Gonna go out on a limb and say five years?”</p>
<p>The detective huffed. “I wasn’t <em>gawking, </em>Kanji. But I see. I thought it wasn’t quite in line with Inaba’s traditional countryside scene.”</p>
<p>“Just cause we’re in the boonies ain’t mean we can’t have stuff lookin’ nice.” Kanji rubbed his neck and smiled. “The guy who runs the place is a pretty cool dude too. Knows that a lotta young people like myself are stickin’ around but ain’t lookin’ for that rusty feelin’ of an old bar anymore. This place ain’t too high end, but at least it doesn’t look like it’s gonna fall over if ya look at it funny.” He shifted his eyes away from Naoto, looking forward. “N’ he’s come down to my place a couple of times now for some custom orders. Nothin’ for his business cause he lets his workers dress however the hell they want.”</p>
<p>“Ah, Tatsumi-san!”</p>
<p>The male voice caught both Kanji and Naoto’s attention. They watched a younger looking man come out from behind the bar. From Naoto’s estimate, he couldn’t have been any older than thirty-five. His eyes were a tired green, but otherwise there was no indication of any age upon his face. His head was clean shaven. The only hair upon it was a goatee of sorts that was pure black. He wore a violet button-up shirt with a black suit jacket that had been left open. His pants followed suit, baring the same shade of black with black dress shoes finishing things off. He made some long strides and was upon Kanji and Naoto in seconds with arms outstretched. Naoto had already guessed, but he was a somewhat average-sized gentlemen. If she had to take an exact guess, 178cm. It didn’t really matter to her anyways, everyone was going to be taller than her at this point.</p>
<p>“Oh, hey there Wakatoshi-san.” Kanji nodded his head at the man.</p>
<p>“It sure has been awhile!” The man bowed his head with a wide grin. His voice was deep and demanding, but still had a friendly tone backing it. “Although, I’m surprised, are you here by yourself this time?”</p>
<p>“Well, no.” Kanji furrowed his brows and looked down at Naoto. “S’pose I should introduce the two of ya. Naoto, this is Shinjiro Wakatoshi. He’s the owner of the bar. Wakatoshi-san, this is Naoto Shirogane.” Kanji held his hand out in what he tried to be a gesture of introduction.</p>
<p>“Oh, Shirogane? The detective family?” Wakatoshi looked down at Naoto. She tried not to let that bother her.</p>
<p>“The very same. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Naoto bowed her head in an attempt to be respectful towards the new face.</p>
<p>“And yours as well.” The owner mirrored the detective’s actions. “If I may pry, what is your relation to Tatsumi-san?”</p>
<p>“We’ve known each other since our first year of high school.” She happily accepted that what information she offered technically wasn’t a lie by any means.</p>
<p>“I see.” Wakatoshi smiled and divided his attention between the two now. “May I escort you to what seats you’ve chosen for the night?”</p>
<p>Kanji spoke up and turned to Naoto. “Unless you wanna sit in a booth or somethin’, I was lookin’ at just sittin’ at the bar. Gonna make gettin’ booze easier.”</p>
<p>Naoto, who did a quick once-over and saw nobody else sitting up there yet, nodded back at her date with an assuring smile. “That sounds acceptable.” And with that, she and Kanji followed the owner as he gestured them along. The couple chose the third and fourth seats, placing themselves right in the middle. This was Naoto’s choice, as she hoped that anybody seeing her and Kanji sitting in the center would deter any bar-goers from invading the other seats, and thus allowing a bit of privacy for them. But after doing so, a thought reminded her that not everyone was as socially awkward as herself and would just as happily sit right next to strangers, completely crashing her idea before it even had the chance to leave the hangar.</p>
<p>“You guys still got that chicken n’ rice bowl with that sauce, yeah?” Kanji asked, getting an affirmed nod from the owner. “Yeah, I’ll take that.”</p>
<p>“What ‘sauce?’” Naoto’s curiosity wouldn’t simmer.</p>
<p>“I dunno, the bastard won’t tell me what he puts in the damn thing.” Kanji shot a glare at Wakatoshi, who just smiled at him in response. “But it tastes amazin’.”</p>
<p>“If it receives such high praise, then I will give it a try as well.” Naoto nodded at the owner, who then proceeded back through the double doors behind the counter. “Still, this place does look quite nice.”</p>
<p>“Considerin’ how rundown it was lookin’ before he got his hands on it, yeah. First signs of life that the shoppin’ district has had in a long time.”</p>
<p>“It is unfortunate that yourself and Hanamura-senpai have such a conflict of interest.”</p>
<p>“It’s all in the past now anyways. Junes ain’t goin’ anywhere anytime soon, and him workin’ there has no effect on me either way. My business is stayin’ afloat and a few of the others are too, n’ really, that’s a whole lot better than I’d ever thought things would be.” Kanji thanked the bartender who had come over and placed two cups of water in front of the couple. “We don’t ever let it get in the way of us all havin’ a good time together.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad. I would hate for their to be any further infighting amongst our group of friends.” Naoto raised her glass and took a drink of her water.</p>
<p>“Whatta ‘bout you though? I’ve heard a few stories from Rise over the years, but she’s always been careful bringin’ you up around me.”</p>
<p>Naoto turned in her seat to face him. “Unfortunately, due to my line of work, I haven’t been able to see everyone as much as I’d like to. There were a few times where I was with Rise-san and Narukami-senpai, but that was mostly due to convenience. Like I’ve said before, I have been able to see everyone at least once since graduating.” A small, sad chuckle escaped her. “As pathetic as it sounds, I’ve been rather lonely since school.”</p>
<p>“You n’ me both.” Kanji admitted, sharing in his date’s pain. “Sure, me and the guys hang out n’ I see the others often too, but the only other one I can really have these kinda talks with is Rise. And, well, Rise ain’t you.”</p>
<p>Naoto never had a chance to ward off the smile that erupted from her face, so she simply turned back to face forward. “I...I share the same sentiment. Nobody else could hope to fill the same shoes that you left.”</p>
<p>Kanji grinned. “Well, I <em>do</em> got pretty big feet.” Naoto’s laugh left Kanji feeling accomplished. And as Wakatoshi brought them out their meals, they fell into a comfortable rhythm of banter as the night went on.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Naoto couldn’t help her eye noticing the door behind the bar open up. The owner had come back out and returned to them once more. “I apologize for interrupting your conversation, I was just wondering if perhaps you would like to start your drinks for the evening.” Wakatoshi stated.</p>
<p>Kanji shrugged and looked at the clock. <em>Eight o’clock, huh?</em> “Sure, why not? Ya didn’t have to come out though. Could’ve just gotten a bartender to do it.” Kanji tried not to let the thought that Wakatoshi seemed to have an extra amount of kiss-ass in him tonight invade his mind.</p>
<p>Wakatoshi, who’s suit jacket was now missing, rolled up his sleeves and shook his head. “I got this business started with my own two hands, Tatsumi-san. I would hate to fall out of practice. And besides, I feel the desire to treat one of my more respected patrons myself every now and then.”</p>
<p>The tailor squirmed in his seat a little bit, still not really keen on accepting compliments. “Uh, thanks, I guess.” After shooting a quick glance over to Naoto and swearing to himself that her smile would melt him like butter, he leaned forward, placing his arms crossed on the bar. “Ya know what I like to get.”</p>
<p>“Blue Hawaiian, correct?” Wakatoshi asked with a raised brow. After receiving a nod from Kanji, he continued. “Would you like the umbrella garnish in it as well?”</p>
<p>“Do I want the- o’course I want the freakin’ umbrella!” Kanji demanded a little too desperately, almost insulted by the fact that he had to even ask.</p>
<p>The owner just smiled at Kanji before turning his attention to Naoto. “And you, Shirogane-san?”</p>
<p>“Whisky on the rocks.” She glanced up at the shelf for a moment before eyeing an amber bottle. “Yamazaki Twelve Year, please.”</p>
<p>“Glad to see you have good tastes.” The owner turned around and grabbed the bottle off the shelf. “It’s a shame, really. People around here don’t appreciate the taste, so I don’t sell as much of it as I’d like.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps it has more to do with pricing rather than tastes.” Naoto inquired. “I’ve enjoyed it in the past when I’ve tried it, but the tab at the end of the night makes me wonder what I was thinking most of the time.”</p>
<p>Wakatoshi chuckled as he popped open the bottle and got out a lowball glass. He filled the tumbler with ice from a container beneath the counter. “Yes, I suppose you might be correct in that. But what alcohol doesn’t leave most people questioning what they were thinking?” He slowly poured the golden-brown drink into the glass and put it in front of Naoto on a coaster. “And speaking of price, before I get to making yours Tatsumi-san, is tonight going all on your tab?”</p>
<p>Kanji nodded immediately. “Course it is.”</p>
<p>Naoto stuck up a hand to protest. “Wait Kanji, I can very well pay-”</p>
<p>“Naoto, I ain’t arguin’ over this. ‘S just a lot easier to have me dealin’ with it.” Kanji, who had shifted himself to look at his date while telling her this, turned his attention back towards the owner. “Ya know I’m good on payin’ back anyways.”</p>
<p>“Of course I do. I wouldn’t be wearing a Tatsumi Textiles product around my bar if I couldn’t trust you.” Wakatoshi smiled proudly while digging out a hurricane glass.</p>
<p>“Thought that looked like the stuff I made for ya awhile back. Everything else is fittin’ fine, yeah? Ya know I’ll fix up anything I got wrong.” Naoto wasn’t too surprised to hear earnest concern in Kanji’s voice.</p>
<p>“Nonsense, Tatsumi-san. Everything I’ve ordered from you has turned out fantastic.” Wakatoshi made quick work of Kanji’s drink and set it in front of him, the umbrella sitting on top in all of its glory. Upon receiving thanks from the tailor, Wakatoshi continued. “Have a bit more confidence in yourself, Tatsumi-san. I may not be on the cutting edge of fashion, but I’ve felt great in whatever pieces I’ve ordered from you in the past.” Kanji didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t. “And it’s pretty telling whenever an idol of all people drops the name of your business.”</p>
<p>This comment brought both Kanji and Naoto to attention, the latter of which was the first to speak. “Pardon me, but what did you just say?”</p>
<p>“Oh, you didn’t hear?” Wakatoshi looked between the two while wiping off the counter-top with a moist rag. “I’m certainly surprised you didn’t know either, Tatsumi-san. It was that one really popular idol. What’s her name?” Naoto supplied Risette instantly, causing the owner to snap his fingers and point at the detective with a smile. “Yeah, that’s it! Didn’t expect a detective such as yourself to know about the idol industry, but regardless.” With a wave of his hand, Wakatoshi informed the duo that he was reading an article in which they interviewed Rise about six weeks back. In it, they questioned her about where her more recent costumes came from, leading to the name Tatsumi Textiles being printed into the paragraphs.</p>
<p>Kanji sat dumbfounded, taking small sips of his drink to show some signs of life. Eventually, after a bit of prodding from Naoto, he finally spoke. “Huh. Y’know, she asked me to start makin’ her costumes here a few months back, but I never thought she’d actually go outta her way to do <em>that</em>.” He shook his head and looked down with a smile. “Makes so much goddamn sense why I’ve been so busy now.”</p>
<p>“And it gives even <em>more</em> of a reason for you to hire on more help.” Naoto attempted and failed to not sound smug while saying that.</p>
<p>“Christ, still on about that, huh? Yeah, yer right. Crap ain’t gonna die down for a <em>long</em> time.” <em>I mean, I was just happy seein’ the paycheck Rise was givin’ me. Didn’t have to do that.</em> Kanji turned his head back towards his date. “Not worryin’ about that right now though. I just wanna focus on my time with you, yeah?” He found himself amused when Naoto tried to hide the look of surprise on her face.</p>
<p>“Y-Yes, well...” She cleared her throat to try and not sound flustered. Wakatoshi then decided to take his leave, a very obvious grin on his face when he went back through the doors. Naoto continued. “I can only hope that this provides an adequate distraction for you.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, ya always have been an ‘adequate distraction’ for me.” Kanji teased before taking a drink.</p>
<p>“<em>Please</em> don’t use my words against me.”</p>
<p>“Whatever ya say, lil’ Ms. ‘I’m interested in you.’”</p>
<p>Naoto gasped. “You said you wouldn’t bring that up anymore!”</p>
<p>“That was back in <em>high-school</em> , Naoto. And I didn’t <em>promise</em> anything, I just <em>said</em> I wouldn’t do it.” Kanji smiled as his date groaned.</p>
<p>“You frustrate me sometimes.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know.” At that, Kanji’s mind wandered for a moment. He thought back to all those years together in school and how great they were. And then everything post-graduation was starting to come and make their way to the front of his head. Every memory he could dig up was brought forward, and the only thing that he could really focus on was how all those years would’ve been better had Naoto been involved. And now, a single burning question confronted him. “Yo Naoto.”</p>
<p>The shift in tone of Kanji’s voice was noticed by Naoto. “Yes Kanji?”</p>
<p>“Hate to kill the mood but...” Kanji sighed. “What took ya so long? Ya know, to, uh, come back and see me? Why now?”</p>
<p>At that, Naoto took a slight sip of her drink, making sure to pace herself properly now with the knowledge she was a lightweight. Her glazed over eyes stared intensely at the glass before her on the counter. Finally, she conceded and turned her head towards Kanji. “I thought I had cultivated myself into a well-together adult when I came to see you. I found myself to be incorrect in this assumption, as I came to a realization recently that I’m still no more mature than I was back during our schooling together. At least, the human side of me isn’t. I thought perhaps traveling more and seeing what the world would offer to me would open me up just as you and our friends did all those years ago, but it wasn’t the same. And when I spoke with Rise-san the other day for advice,” Naoto paused, wondering if she should really be telling Kanji about her and the idol’s conversation. After some deliberation, she continued. “Rise-san had mentioned to me about one time that her and I had become intoxicated. She told me one part that I had completely forgotten about that seemed to struck a chord with me. When I was bombarding her with my drunken ramblings, I said ‘Maybe I’ll go back when I grow up some more.’ Once I had heard my own words repeated back to me, it had donned on me that perhaps I hadn’t matured as much as I thought I had. I consider myself to be mentally strong and more than responsible, but I am also weak-willed. In my line of work, I’m able to keep a calm and collected demeanor, enough to dissuade any precinct of any idea of me hindering their jobs. But when I’m face-to-face with a family member or a friend, despite all of the time that we had spent together, I clam up. I’m afraid of taking that next step to being a supportive and open friend.”</p>
<p>Kanji, half-way through his drink at this point but still listening intently, prepped his response. “The hell ya talkin’ about, Naoto? This why you been keepin’ me out for years?”</p>
<p>“Kanji, I’m sorry, I just-”</p>
<p>“Shaddup for a sec, will ya? I’m gonna lose my line of thinkin’ if I can’t get this shit out.” Kanji took another drink, almost emptying his glass. Naoto watched on, a tad irritated by his interruption, but knowing that he never means anything by his rudeness. “Puttin’ it straight, Naoto: yer outta yer goddamn mind. The things you keep feedin’ yourself, convincin’ yourself that yer less of a person and bringin’ ya back down is, uh, shit...hold on...” Kanji searched for the right word.</p>
<p>“Asinine?” Naoto offered.</p>
<p>“<em>Stupid</em>, that’s it. Ya remember all that time we spent together in school? Those were some of the best goddamn years of my life, Naoto. I ain’t regrettin’ any part of it, not even me confessin’ to ya back then. Cause ya know what? You were the best damn friend I coulda asked for. All the nights we spent watchin’ all those dumb movies n’ shootin’ the shit, all the days of school we spent bitchin’ to each other between classes, and all the times we got ourselves into some kinda trouble—alright, it was mostly <em>me</em>, but still—one of us would always come in clutch n’ save the other. We always, <em>always</em>, had each other’s backs.”</p>
<p>Naoto gulped. “You don’t regret our friendship or feel like it was a mistake?”</p>
<p>“If I regretted us bein’ friends then would I be here now?” Kanji stated bluntly. “’N hell I know I made mistakes. I ain’t regrettin’ any of ‘em though. That’d be a freakin’ disgrace to myself n’ who I am now.” Kanji raised his glass, taking in the last sip of his drink before signaling to the bartender for a refill. “’Stead, I hold onto all the good shit, y’know? Now and then I still had those freaky moments when ya would pop up in my head and I’d get angry, but now I ain’t gonna have to worry `bout that.”</p>
<p>Naoto watched the bartender refill Kanji’s drink, herself deciding to catch up and finishing off her own in one swoop. As she breathed out in an attempt to alleviate the burn in her throat, she got a refill of her own and, after the bartender was out of earshot, readied her next statement. “I suppose I still hold onto those regrets.”</p>
<p>“Hm?” Kanji mumbled out as he took another drink.</p>
<p>“I believed the experiences made me a better person, but what you just conveyed has made me realize that perhaps I shouldn’t be using them as an anchor, but rather a set of wings.”</p>
<p><em>Yer a freakin’ angel already. </em> Kanji, who was beginning to raise his glass to his mouth again, looked down at his drink with a puzzled expression before deciding to set it back home on the bar. <em>Okay buddy, slow down a bit.</em> “ There’s always gonna be that line, y’know? That tightrope yer walkin’, balancin’ your emotions so ya don’t get caught up in yourself, but also ain’t gonna fall down and never come back up. Regrets ain’t makin’ ya the person ya are today. ‘S all the other crap you did along the way.” <em>Now if only you could take yer own freakin’ advice Tatsumi. Then we’d be golden.</em> Kanji, after a few moments of deliberation and waiting for a response, took another long drink after nothing came. After that, he felt overly self-conscious for some reason. “’S heavy stuff and I ain’t the best at explainin’ myself sober let alone now. Sorry, ain’t meanin’ to bring this shit into our date n’ all.”</p>
<p>“Kanji, <em>I’m</em> the one who brought it all up. You just responded with much more than I could’ve asked for. And you know very well that I don’t—well, neither of us do, really—do particularly well with small talk. In addition, we also have already had what could be considered a ‘heavier’ conversation earlier tonight. Besides,” Naoto paused to down half of her drink, noting that it went down much smoother than the first one.“It reminds me of back in high-school whenever I would ask your opinion on a wide array of varying subjects. You always gave such honest answers, even if you weren’t ever the greatest at composing yourself, or even if the ideas would be considered somewhat simple.” Naoto shot a sorry look to Kanji as she said this, although she saw no offense on his face. She turned back to her drink and continued. “Despite that, you still provided me with much insight and new ways to think about all of the different topics I presented you with.” Naoto looked back over to him and gave him a full smile. “I missed this.”</p>
<p>The tailor felt his heart flutter, but he still returned a grin of his own. “Me too, Naoto.”</p>
<p>“All of this being said, I can’t say I necessarily agree with the idea of abandoning my regrets entirely, although perhaps that is just more about the different type of people that we are in the end.” Naoto’s smile disappeared from her face.</p>
<p>“Whaddya mean?” Kanji slowly sipped on his drink.</p>
<p>Naoto sighed as she looked at the liquid in her glass. In one fell swoop, she lifted it up and downed it, setting it back down on the coaster with a bit more ferocity than she had intended. After letting it settle for a second, and after fighting off Kanji’s protests to slow it down a bit, she quickly ordered another one with a decision made that she might as well embrace the drunken side of her once more. Once again, she continued after the bartender was out of earshot. “We have had very different life experiences. Your lifestyle has consisted of staying in one place the entirety of your life, making friends with the local inhabitants and, despite our excursions during our time in school, living a relatively normal day-to-day life. You have this security in knowing that you’ll be sleeping in the same bed, under the same roof, and seeing the same faces that you normally have day after day. There will be the occasional change, yes, but I think you’ll find that your life is cemented in this sense of comfort and familiarity.” Throughout her tirade, Naoto had gone through enough of her third drink that there was only a quarter of the cup left. When she saw this, she quickly drank it and ordered another.</p>
<p>Kanji blinked. “Okay, still not seein’ where-”</p>
<p>“I didn’t have the same luxury. The only constants in my life up to the point where I met the rest of you were my grandpa and Yakushiji-san. So when it came to any memories that I could potentially ‘treasure,’ I h-held onto any inkling that I could, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. Or rather, how <em>unpleasant</em> they might be. And that habit ended up bleeding into my teenage and, now ever furthermore, into my adult years. And...and I suppose all of that is to say that even such an embarrassing moment as me running away from you is something that I ‘treasure,’ in a b-botched sense of the word.” Naoto finished with an inaudible belch, swiftly covering her mouth with her right hand.</p>
<p>Kanji wouldn’t let it go unnoticed. “Uh, you doin’ alright there Naoto?”</p>
<p>In response, the detective inhaled heavily and smiled whilst slowly lowering her hand back down to her side. “Never better, Kanji.” Her date, although unsure, did his best to believe her and turned his attention back towards his own drink, stirring it around a little with his umbrella. Naoto used this as an opportunity to get half of her fourth drink into her gullet. “That was rather...er, <em>therapeutic</em>, I must say.”</p>
<p>“Sounded like ya kept it in for awhile. N’ from what I’m gettin’ outta all this, ya don’t think that you’ve grown as much as ya thought you did.” As Kanji assembled the puzzle together in his mind, Naoto watched on, a slight sense of pride for the young man gnawing its way to the surface of her mind. “But you think that’s cause you hold onto all the bad stuff n’, uh, ‘treasure’ it? And ya do <em>that</em> cause you don’t think ya got enough happy memories?”</p>
<p>Naoto nodded, her head firmly in the palm of her hand while it was propped up on the bar. “I...um, suppose that would be a reasonable d...deduction.”</p>
<p>“Huh.” Kanji drummed his fingers on the bar for a few seconds before just laying them flat and turning his attention back to his date. “Then why don’t we just make some more for ya?” When Naoto raised her brows, Kanji continued. “Uh, like, we give ya enough of the good stuff and the bad stuff oughtta start goin’ away eventually, right?”</p>
<p>It was such a simple solution, but Naoto couldn’t help but smile at Kanji’s genuine presentation of it. And perhaps it was the alcohol, but instead of pointing out the obvious flaws that this ‘plan’ held, she played along. “That would take quite...a <em>lot</em> of memories.”</p>
<p>“We got the time, Naoto. I figure all of those times we hung out in high-school’s gotta help. And I’m sure that you got plenty of other stuff ya remember from hangin’ out with our Senpai and the others.” Kanji shrugged. “We just gotta build off that til all the bad crap is gone, yeah?”</p>
<p>“Brute forcing my emotions out of me certainly does sound like an idea you’d come up with.” Naoto failed to stifle a giggle when Kanji gave her an awry look. “I never said it was a <em>bad</em> idea. As a matter of fact...” Naoto stood from her stool, almost falling over herself in the process before Kanji quickly got up and caught her. As he held onto her shoulders, she looked up into his eyes and continued. “If it means spending more time with you, I’m all for it.”</p>
<p>“Alright Naoto, c’mon, yer drunk. Coulda mentioned you were a lightweight.” Kanji shook his head. “Maybe I should call ya a featherweight. Even lightweights can knock back four drinks and aren’t <em>this</em> bad.”</p>
<p>“I am <em>not</em> a...a...<em>feather</em>-” Naoto failed to finish the word before she started laughing again. At this point, she was pressed up against Kanji, her head laying against his chest. To the poor man’s credit, he was trying his best to remain calm. “And...and you should know that this is only a result of <em>three.</em> The fourth one has not had sufficient time to-”</p>
<p>“L-Look Naoto, I think we need to get ya back to yer place.” Kanji interrupted her. “You’re way too far gone for us to stay here. Last thing I want is for us to tear up Wakatoshi’s bar. He already gets enough hell from Ted for that.”</p>
<p>Naoto looked straight up, her chin now planted firmly on his chest with a demure smile. “My my, rather forward Kanji.” The tailor didn’t pick up on it, so she continued. “Well, I...I, um, <em>suppose</em> I am open to making some ‘happy memories’ there if you-”</p>
<p>“<em>Nonononononono!</em>” Kanji instantly grabbed onto her shoulders again and put her at an arms length away. “You are <em>drunk!</em> I ain’t doin’ <em>shit</em> while ya got booze in ya!” Kanji was doing his best to fight off the wave of impure thoughts that intruded his mind at light speed. <em>What the </em><em><b>fuck?! </b></em><em>It was four drinks! Four! What kinda drunk </em><em><b>is</b></em><em> this girl?! </em></p>
<p>Naoto, seemingly ignoring that last statement, was still smiling as she looked up at him panicking. “You are a <em> very </em> attractive gentleman, Kanji-kun.”</p>
<p>“Uh...thanks?” <em> And now she’s just </em> <em> <b>messing</b> </em> <em> with me? Goddamn it, why does she gotta look so fuckin’ </em> <em> <b>cute</b> </em> <em> while she’s doin’ it too?! </em> Kanji let go of Naoto and smacked both sides of his face with his hands. “Dammit! I gotta focus!” Kanji turned towards the counter while Naoto was leaning up against her chair to maintain balance. “Yo Wakatoshi-san. We’re callin’ it a night. Next time ya come by the shop I’ll pay the tab, sound good?”</p>
<p>The owner, who had walked over to be face-to-face with Kanji, just did a practiced smile and nod. “Of course, Tatsumi-san! Er, be careful going home. She seems...”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know.” With that, Kanji took a step over to Naoto and got her attention. “Yo Naoto, c’mon. We’re gonna get you back to yer place.”</p>
<p>“But...but the night is still <em> young </em> , Kanji.” Naoto said with a drunken slur to her voice. “Oh, <em> there’s </em> the fourth drink.”</p>
<p>“Great. Just great.” Kanji shook his head. “Look, don’t make me carry you outta here.” The lustful look he received in response from Naoto scared him.</p>
<p>“Oh, is that an <em> offer </em>, Kanji?”</p>
<p>“For the love of-” Kanji bit his tongue and took a deep breath. “Alright fine, so we’re doin’ this. Mental strength, don’t fail me now.” He then bent down and scooped Naoto up in his arms in one swoop, eliciting a small shriek and then a giggle from the drunk detective. Kanji quickly made an exit out of the building while Naoto was rambling on, trying her best to explain in an intoxicated state how alcohol interacts with the human body.</p>
<p>Cutting her off mid-sentence, Kanji looked her in the eyes. “Alright look, where the hell are ya stayin’ at? It ain’t at Yukiko’s Inn, is it?”</p>
<p>Naoto decided that a good response to this would be to take her hat off and place it atop Kanji’s head. “There, figure it out, <em> detective prince. </em>”</p>
<p><em>Cool, so this is goin’ abso-fucking-lutely </em><em><b>nowhere.</b></em> Kanji still retained his patience and after a few moments of thought, came to a decision. “Fine, I guess the shop is turnin’ into an inn tonight.” He then started out, the shop as his destination in mind.</p>
<p>“But Kanji, R-Rise-san told me that we’re not...we’re not <em> supposed </em> to have sex on the first-”</p>
<p>“I already told you I ain’t doin’ anything to ya!” Kanji barked, but all he got from Naoto in her drunken stupor was a very loud laugh. Realizing that he had a long night ahead of him, Kanji quickened his pace so as not to lose his resolve.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I started to experiment a little bit in how I write things in this chapter, so I hope it turned out as well as I think it did. But while it isn't ideal timing by any means, but I'm glad to finally have this chapter out. Hopefully the next one will be along much quicker. Thanks again for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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